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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27491329">First Date</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso'>JCapasso</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haven (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:28:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,504</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27491329</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Audrey decided she wanted to reschedule the date with Duke after she accidentally stood him up?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Duke Crocker/Audrey Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Audrey sat in her now long term motel room, lost in thought. Funnily enough, it wasn’t about the case they just finished, but more about the person who helped the finish it. The one who came through when it really counted. She’d seen the way he’d practically begged her to take the picture once he realized the power it held. His face when the picture got knocked out of his hand into the water, when the man fell down right there on the dock and drowned. She’d been so torn for so long between Nathan and the rest of the town’s opinion and what she could see for herself, but now she knew. Criminal he may be, but Duke Crocker was still a good man. And she was worried about him. Not to mention the fact that she needed to thank him. </p><p>She got in her new car and headed towards the Gull. She knew that it would be slow on a Wednesday night so hopefully he would have time to talk. She drank her first drink alone as he was busy with other customers, but when he brought the second one, he made conversation. “Dirty Martini number two,” he said as he set it down and took the empty one. “So…are these happy martinis or sad martinis?” he asked, leaning forward on the counter. </p><p>She smiled as the connection between them flared just as brightly as ever and decided that the truth was the best way to go here. “It’s because I want to thank you, but that seems almost impossible, so I figure with a big bill at least I can give you a good tip,” she told him. He gave an amused chuckle, looking away like he was trying to figure out whether or not to believe her. “No, seriously, Duke. Thank you. For coming through when I called.” </p><p>“Sure,” Duke nodded, wondering what the hell it was about her that drew him in like a moth to flame. “Now…about those parking tickets…” he joked. When she laughed, he couldn’t help but join her. “So…why is it so hard for you to thank me?” he had to ask. </p><p>“I don’t know,” Audrey said with a shrug. “Maybe because every time we start to be nice to each other, something blows it up?” </p><p>“Maybe you just…ask way too much of me,” Duke replied. “You’ve been poking around…judging…the secret to happiness with men? Lower your expectations,” he said conspiratorially. </p><p>“Everybody knows that,” she partially joked.</p><p>“Then why can’t you do it?” he asked. </p><p>“I’m drinking this swill aren’t I?” she said pointedly, pulling a laugh from Duke. “How come we never rescheduled?” She blamed the second martini for the question, but it had been bugging her. </p><p>“Rescheduled what?” Duke asked, despite having a suspicion of what she was talking about. The only thing they’d ever scheduled in the first place. </p><p>“Our…our d-date?” </p><p>“You mean when you stood me up?” he asked as though it should be obvious. </p><p>“Now who’s asking too much?” she countered in the same relaxed tone that this entire conversation had been in. “I can’t just let people die just because I want to have a social life, Duke.”</p><p>“Is a social life really what you /want/?” Duke asked her. </p><p>“You think I don’t?” She wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or offended. </p><p>Duke grabbed some alcohol to make her another martini, partially because that one was almost gone and partially because he wanted his attention on something else as he said, “Let me ask you something, Audrey. How long did you know that you would be on that stake-out or whatever on Friday night?”</p><p>Audrey flinched, starting to get his point. “Two days,” she admitted. </p><p>“And yet I didn’t hear about it until I called you an hour before,” he reminded her. </p><p>“I’m sorry, Duke. I just…forgot,” she said apologetically. </p><p>“I know,” he said tightly. “I could hear it in your voice when I mentioned it.”</p><p>“That doesn’t mean we can’t try again,” she said hopefully. </p><p>“I’ve had more than enough people who forget about me in my life, Audrey,” he said with a sigh as he handed her the next martini. </p><p>“Duke…” she said gently, reaching across to put a hand on his arm before he got far. “I /am/ sorry. I just…I have a habit of getting wrapped up in my work and getting tunnel vision, but it wasn’t…I mean…”</p><p>“I can’t just be an afterthought,” he told her seriously before trying to brush it off. “I’m selfish, remember?” </p><p>“No you’re not,” she shook her head. She remembered him saving her life, and yeah, he undressed her, but it had been kinda necessary. What wasn’t necessary was him washing her clothes, replacing her phone, leaving her as much dignity as he could for when she woke up, and making her coffee. When Nathan went crazy, not only did he not file a report, but he even helped keep Nathan locked down so no one got hurt. He could have easily blackmailed them or extorted them on more than one occasion into getting rid of the parking tickets that he pretended to be so worried about, but he never pushed the matter. His compassion to his friends…the second chancers as they called themselves said more than enough. Then there was the resignation she had seen in his far too old face when he learned that his life would be taken for the baby that Beatty was carrying. He had given up. Fully accepted the fact that he was going to die so that baby could live. When she told him about his daughter, she could see the longing in his eyes and the way he studied that picture for far too long. It was why she’d sent it to him later. Just in case he wanted a copy. Then there was this situation. Yeah, he’d turned them down when they first asked for help, but she tried to put herself in his shoes. They had no evidence and didn’t even know what was going on and they were asking him to turn on someone that he worked with. As soon as Duke learned that he was absolutely hurting people, he’d jumped right in to help, even delaying to release the hostage. He’d put his own life at risk as soon as people were hurt. No, Duke wasn’t selfish in the slightest. “You want people to think you are, but you’re not.”</p><p>“And why would I want people to think that?” Duke plastered a nonchalant look on his face as he leaned back against the counter behind him. </p><p>“I don’t know,” she admitted. She was forming a theory. Especially since his comment about people forgetting him, but she could tell by his demeanor that he was starting to close himself off and if she kept pushing past his walls right now, he would just reinforce them. Instead she got back to the previous point. “But you’re right. You shouldn’t be just an afterthought, and you’re not,” she assured him. “I know that it’s probably hard for you to believe, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve had any kind of personal life to speak of. I’m not used to having to split my focus. I get it if I screwed this all up for good, but…”</p><p>“Friday night?” Duke asked when he could see that she was struggling for words. He could stick his neck out one more time. </p><p>“Yeah,” she smiled. “Okay.”</p><p>“You’re not gonna stand me up again are you?” he asked suspiciously. </p><p>“I can’t promise that nothing urgent will come up at work,” she told him. “But I can promise that if it does, I’ll give you as much notice as I can. Can that be good enough?” </p><p>Duke considered for a moment before giving a half shrug. “As long as urgent means actively protecting people and not ‘urgent paperwork’ or something then yeah. I can live with that,” he smiled, returning to leaning on the counter in front of her. </p><p>“Okay then. Hopefully, I’ll see you Friday night,” she said, both happy and nervous as she got up to leave. </p><p>Duke reached out and caught her hand in his, taking the liberty of running his thumb over the back of it as he asked, “You sure you’re okay to drive?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she assured him with a chuckle. “I’m sure I’m well below the legal limit.”</p><p>“You know I don’t care about legal,” Duke snorted amusedly. </p><p>“Yeah, Duke. I’m good. And…thank you,” she squeezed his hand before letting go and pulling out her credit card. </p><p>“It’s on the house,” Duke waved her off. </p><p>“Well that completely ruins my plans to thank you with a big bill and a good tip,” she pointed out. </p><p>“And yet you found the words so it’s not necessary,” Duke joked. “You’re my friend, Audrey. Friends don’t pay here.” </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly. “Goodnight, Duke.”</p><p>“Night,” he said quietly as she walked away before going to wipe down some of the glasses. Getting involved with a cop was probably going to be the biggest mistake of his life, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. He didn’t believe in regrets anyway. He would just enjoy the ride, no matter where it led.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thursday and Friday were both relatively slow days, and when she was all caught up on everything, she told Nathan, “I’m gonna take off a little early today.”</p><p>“Since when do you take off early?” he asked confused. It wasn’t like anyone could stop her. She wasn’t technically working for them. She did it because she enjoyed the job and needed something to do, but taking time off wasn’t like her. </p><p>“Since I have a date,” she said with a nervous smile just thinking about it. </p><p>“A date?” Nathan asked incredulously. She didn’t even know anyone. Except… “With Duke?”</p><p>“Yes. With Duke,” she said. When she saw him about to object, she held up a hand to stop him. “Look, I know you don’t like him. You two have some kind of history or whatever, but that has nothing to do with me.”</p><p>“It’s not just that…it’s just…” Nathan hesitated a minute before making a decision. He wouldn’t let her go into this blind. “He’s just trying to use you Parker.” </p><p>“You have to admit you’re a little biased,” she pointed out. </p><p>“Yeah. I am. But that’s because he’s done it to me,” Nathan tried to reason with her. “Listen, if you have a few minutes, let me tell you a little bit about that history you mentioned.” </p><p>Audrey hesitated for a minute before nodding and sitting back down. She would hear him out, but that didn’t mean that she was going to believe everything he said blindly. She’d already seen him assume the worst about Duke more than once when it was unwarranted, after all. “Okay. I’m listening. But I make no promises.”</p><p>“Duke has always been a criminal. Even as a kid. I remember as far back as second grade he was stealing anything that wasn’t nailed down. Then when he turned eighteen, he won that boat in a poker game, and illegal one mind you, and left town for a decade. When he came back, he invited me out on a fishing trip. Said he wanted to reconnect with his old friends. I found out later that he was using me and my badge to cover for his smuggling. Set up an alibi and keep anyone from searching the boat. The /only/ reason he associates with anyone in law enforcement is to use them for his own purposes.” </p><p>Audrey considered that for a moment before nodding. “I’ll keep my eyes open, then,” she agreed. And she would get Duke’s side of the story. There was no chance in hell that she would stand him up again though. They could have the conversation that they needed to have over dinner. “I’ll see you Monday, Nathan.” Or if a trouble emergency crops up before then didn’t need to be said. </p><p>“Night Parker,” Nathan sighed. </p><p>Audrey headed back to the inn and took a while to go through her clothes, trying to figure out what to wear. She really wished that she’d put more thought into this part in advance. It wasn’t like she had decent taste in the first place as evidenced by the way Vince and Dave had to help her find something for the restaurant opening. That led her to that dress. It would have to do for tonight. At least she already knew that Duke liked her in it. She took a bit of time to get ready and then just paced for the next half hour before it was time to go. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was. It had been forever since she’d been on a date at all, and this was a far cry from her normal dates. She usually went for the straight-laced boring types and Duke was anything but. She couldn’t deny the connection between them though. Maybe he was exactly what she needed. A challenge. Someone to pull her out of her shell. She just hoped that she wasn’t making a mistake. That Nathan wasn’t right about Duke. </p><p>When she walked around to the back deck of the Gull, she paused and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. All of the small tables had a single candle on them and one of them had been moved to the center, and contained a spread of food that looked delicious, including a main shrimp dish that Duke knew was her favorite. Duke was just closing the lid of the grill after pulling the last of the food off of it when he turned around and saw her, breaking out in a grin. “Well, would you look at that. She does do something other than work.” </p><p>“I wouldn’t want to forget to live my life, now would I?” she said softly as she started moving again, heading towards the center table. </p><p>When Duke pulled out her chair she raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. “What? I can be a gentleman…sometimes.” She laughed with him as he moved to sit across from her. “So we have a few options for beverages. We can go classy with wine or stick to beer and cocktails.”</p><p>“I’m good either way,” she shrugged. </p><p>“Wine it is then,” Duke pulled out the bottle he’d set aside and poured them both a glass. </p><p> “You made all this?” she gestured at the amazing food. </p><p>“I happen to enjoy cooking,” he told her, getting a smile in return as they made plates and started to eat. </p><p>There was a bit of small talk before Audrey had to ask, “Why are we doing this?” </p><p>“I’m surprised you have to ask. I didn’t think you were /that/ out of touch with the whole idea of dating,” he teased lightly. </p><p>“No, I mean…Nathan just said…um…” </p><p>Duke sighed and sat back in his chair. “I can think of a thousand things he would have said if you told him you were coming out with me,” he scoffed. </p><p>“He told me about when you came back to town. The fishing trip where you used him as a cover under the guise of friendship,” Audrey said hesitantly. She knew that if she didn’t get an answer to this, it would never leave her mind. </p><p>“And you believe him,” Duke sighed, reaching for his wine, and trying to keep the disappointment from his face. </p><p>“No…maybe…I don’t know what to believe, Duke. That’s why I brought it up. Because I want to know your side of the story.” </p><p>“My side, huh?” he huffed. He would tell her. Just so he could see if she really did care about his side and wasn’t just looking for any justification to bail. “My side is simple. I came back to town thanks to a promise I’d made to my father before he died. I never had any good memories of this town. Everyone here had always treated me like trash. I’d had a handful of friends over the years and Nate was one of them. Fishing had always been our thing so I invited him out. Yes, I had contraband on the boat. I usually do. But I didn’t need him as a cover. It had already been moved. It was just waiting for the buyer to pick it up.”</p><p>“How did he even know about it?” she asked curiously. </p><p>“There was a coast guard patrol. I was having too much fun and not paying attention. They boarded to search. I didn’t ask Nathan to flash his badge. I had no problems with them searching. I’m a little smarter than to leave stuff like that out where anyone can find it. To this day, I don’t know why Nathan called them off, but the delay made us late getting back. Late enough that the buyer was already waiting, which was when Nathan found out. The buyer took off, and Nathan sucker-punched me and we had a big fight. The rest is history.” </p><p>She nodded understandingly. That all made sense. She still had to say, “Nathan thinks this whole thing is about you using me.”</p><p>“I don’t care what Nathan thinks,” Duke scoffed. “I care what /you/ think.” </p><p>“I think Nathan is biased. A lot of people are when it comes to you. But still…I mean…you don’t associate with cops. Even ones you like. Your words. I guess I just…don’t understand.”</p><p>“Maybe you’re just special,” Duke smirked. </p><p>“Why?” </p><p>Duke sighed. “Okay. Fine. But once I answer this, you owe me at least one deep revealing story about Audrey Parker, deal?” </p><p>“Okay. Deal,” she easily agreed. </p><p>“Because you see beyond the surface,” he said simply before explaining. “The morning we met, after I’d fished you out of the water, I thought I knew what you would think. Waking up naked in a strange man’s bed. It’s kinda every woman’s worst nightmare. I /hoped/ that the fact that I’d left you your gun and something to wear would help, and was counting on the fact that I was relaxed and unarmed to keep from being shot. I fully expected to at least be threatened and possibly even arrested. If I had known that Nathan had told you about me, I would have expected worse.”</p><p>“I don’t make a habit of forming my opinions based on other people’s. The shirt and gun did help, a lot. It made me feel less helpless and let me know that you weren’t my enemy. I still wasn’t going to let my guard down until I was sure, of course, but I could recognize at least the attempt of a nice gesture, even if there are parts that I still don’t understand.”</p><p>“What don’t you understand?” Duke asked curiously. </p><p>“Well…why didn’t you just call an ambulance and send me to the hospital? Why /wash/ my clothes? Why take them off in the first place?”</p><p>“You’re not from here, so you probably don’t realize how cold the water gets,” Duke explained. “By the time I’d done CPR to get you breathing again, you were on the verge of hypothermia. If I hadn’t gotten you out of those wet clothes, you would have died or at least ended up with brain damage long before the ambulance got there. Once that was done, I figured that you’d probably rather not end up with a dozen more people seeing you naked on the way, and since you didn’t really /need/ medical attention I just wrapped you up in blankets and took you into the heated cabin to warm you up. As far as washing your clothes…they got pretty muddy when I was dragging you out of the water.”</p><p>“How did you know that I didn’t need medical attention?” </p><p>“When you’ve spent as long as I have at sea, you have to learn a lot of things. It’s not like you can just call the doctor when you get hurt or go shopping when you need something or get a mechanic when things go wrong. Obviously I’m nowhere near as skilled as a doctor, but I can at least recognize when someone needs one. All you needed was to get your body temperature raised slowly enough to not send you into shock.” </p><p>“Okay. That makes sense. And I can’t remember if I ever actually thanked you for that or not…”</p><p>“If I remember correctly, you criticized my choice of replacement phone and scoffed at my attempts to make you coffee,” Duke chuckled. </p><p>“And because of that, you decided you liked me?” she asked incredulously. </p><p> “You didn’t shoot me,” he shrugged. “Under the circumstances, you were well within your rights to be off-kilter.” </p><p>“Still…thank you,” she said earnestly, reaching over and putting her hand over his. </p><p>“You actually saw me for me. That’s all the thanks I need, but now it’s your turn.” </p><p>“Okay. A deep revealing story…let me think…” she wasn’t giving up her greatest secrets. Not on a first date. But she had plenty of things that would dig just deep enough. Not many of them good though, but she had a feeling that Duke could relate better than most to the bad stuff. “Okay…so I’m not sure if you know, but I’m an orphan. I spent my first ten years or so in an orphanage before it got shut down and I got moved from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen.”</p><p>“I didn’t know that,” Duke admitted. “I mean, the orphan part I did of course, but not the rest.”</p><p>“Well the last foster home I was in was pretty rough. I had gotten moved there when I was sixteen. The family had two kids of their own. Toddlers. I was basically a slave for them. I had to do all the cleaning and they were really anal about everything being white glove spotless. I also had to babysit whenever they wanted, usually with no notice. They also demanded that I have a job, not that I ever got to see any of the money. They took it all for room and board. Plus the check they were getting for me from the state. I had to share a room with the two year old daughter and I was the one who had to get up at all hours of the night whenever one of the babies needed anything, no matter whether I had school in the morning or not because of course I had to stay in school and keep my grades up so the social workers wouldn’t start digging for why.” </p><p>“Which explains why you’re such a workaholic. Why didn’t you just say something so they would move you somewhere else?” Duke asked, despite having a pretty good idea. </p><p>“Because there was no telling whether the next one would be worse or not. Most of them were,” she admitted. </p><p>“And people wonder why I avoided foster care like the plague,” Duke snorted. </p><p>“Were your parents that bad?” she asked gently. </p><p>Duke shook his head. “Definitely not opening that can of worms tonight.” When she looked like she was trying to decide whether to let it go or not, he said, “I’ll tell you what. You tell me all about the worst foster home you were in and I’ll spill all about my parents. How’s that?” </p><p>She paled slightly and shook her head too. “No. That is very much /not/ first date conversation.”</p><p>“My sentiments exactly.” </p><p>“Okay, so back to the original topic, you like me despite the fact that I’m a cop, but are you sure you can really handle dating a cop?” she asked, shaking off the bad memories and pulling herself back to the present. </p><p>“Are you sure you can handle dating a criminal?” he countered amusedly. </p><p>“Hey, it was a valid question,” she chuckled, recognizing the dismissal.</p><p>“So was mine,” he pointed out. </p><p>“Well I asked first,” she said, fully realizing how ridiculous she sounded. </p><p>“Ooh. Five year old arguments,” he teased. </p><p>“Duke,” she huffed a laugh. </p><p>“Stamp your feet and I’ll make it six.” She reached over and smacked his arm making him laugh harder. “Come on. Let’s relocate,” he reached for her hand as he got his laughter under control. She only hesitated for a second before taking it and letting him lead her to the deck swing overlooking the water. “So, can I handle dating a cop…honestly? I don’t know.” </p><p>“Then why try?” </p><p>“Because I like you. More than I should. And I can’t help it. Because what’s life without a little risk. Because I enjoy spending time with you enough to make it worth that risk,” he explained as he slung his arm over the back of the swing. An invitation if she chose to take it, but not pushing the matter. “So what about you?” </p><p>“Kinda the same,” she admitted. “I mean, I can see a thousand potential problems, but…that doesn’t mean we can’t deal with them. I guess my biggest worry is that…well…”</p><p>“What?” Duke asked gently. </p><p>“I don’t want to be put in a position where I have to choose between my job and you,” she told him. </p><p>“Well that’ll be up to you,” Duke told her. “I’m not reckless. I’m good at staying under the radar. As long as you don’t go sneaking around and snooping, there’s no reason for such a situation to come up.”</p><p>“And you promise never to try and use my connection to get away with things?” </p><p>“One thing that you cops don’t seem to understand…my connection to you would be more of a liability than a help. I can avoid trouble on my own. I can talk my way out of anything I can’t avoid. But if the wrong people find out that I’m associating with cops…” He let the sentence hang for a moment before finishing. “Using that connection would get me into more trouble than not using it ever would.” </p><p>“Yeah, okay. That makes sense,” she said relieved as she leaned against his side comfortably. “But I wouldn’t want to put you in danger either…”</p><p>“Then stop asking me to sell out my associates,” he said seriously wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “I mean, if they’re actually hurting or killing innocent people and you’re absolutely sure that it’s them, okay. That’s different. But otherwise, leave me out of it. Okay?” </p><p>Audrey considered that for a moment before nodding. “Okay. I can live with that. Just one more thing I need to be sure of…the things you smuggle…” She knew that he’d said that he wasn’t in the business of smuggling wanted felons out of the country, but she needed to know where his lines were. </p><p>“I don’t deal in drugs…well a little pot, but nothing stronger than that. I don’t deal in human trafficking like coyotes or the sex trade or anything that involves hurting people. I don’t deal in any kind of explosives and the only guns I’ll deal in are the normal everyday kind you can get on any street corner. I don’t touch any heavy weaponry, assault rifles, military grade stuff. I very rarely deal in the normal everyday guns either since you can get those anywhere.”</p><p>“What else is there?” she asked confused. When she thought of smuggling, that was everything she considered. </p><p>“Art, antiques, jewelry, wines, luxury foods, anything people want to avoid customs for any reason. Plus I have enough contacts to get my hands on some pretty rare stuff,” he explained. </p><p>“Stolen stuff?” </p><p>“Probably. Some of it at least. I don’t ask, and they don’t tell. It’s none of my business,” Duke shrugged. </p><p>“And you’re just freely admitting all this…” she said curiously and a little confused. </p><p>“This isn’t an actual interrogation and you’re not on duty. I know you’re not wired, so if it comes to it, it’s a he said she said and you have no proof of anything. That said, I do trust you Audrey, and I need you to know that you can trust me. I need you to know that I may be a criminal but I don’t hurt people, or help others hurt people. If we’re going to have any chance of making this work, that needs to be understood from the start.” </p><p>“Would you trust me enough to give me details? Tell me what you’re doing and when and how?” She wasn’t going to ask, but she wanted to get a feel for how far his trust in her went. </p><p>“That’s not an issue of trust. I wouldn’t give you those details, not because I don’t trust you, but because I’m not going to put you in that position. The one that you already asked me not to put you in,” Duke told her. </p><p>“Okay. You’re right. And I don’t want any details. I /do/ trust you, Duke. And I know that you won’t cross a line you can’t come back from.” </p><p>“Okay, good. That’s good. But just to be clear…the whole not using your connection thing…does that count for parking tickets too?” he partially joked. </p><p>Audrey just shook her head with a laugh. “No, parking tickets don’t count. But the answer is still no.” </p><p>“Fair enough,” Duke chuckled. </p><p>Audrey leaned her head against his shoulder. “You really think we can make this work?” she asked hopefully. </p><p>“I don’t know. But I’m willing to try if you are.” </p><p>“Yeah. I am. It’s worth the risk. /You’re/ worth the risk,” she said snuggling against his side and pulling his arm tighter around her. </p><p>He leaned his head against hers as he whispered, “So are you.” </p><p>Audrey had figured out that he had some major abandonment issues, and she couldn’t even begin to fathom how deep they went. She guessed that his parents had something to do with it, at least, but beyond that she had no idea. The fact that he was still willing to open himself up to people at all was a miracle and it told her more than anything else about who he was. She had figured out why he wanted so badly for people to think he was so selfish. It was armor. To keep anyone from seeing how badly he could be hurt. And he had let her behind that armor, despite knowing that there were no guarantees. He wasn’t asking for anything but a chance and she would be damned if she would let herself hurt him. </p><p>The next couple hours were spent alternating between comfortable silence and light conversation. They had covered more than enough heavy topics for a first date. Audrey wasn’t used to doing nothing for so long, but she had to admit that it was peaceful. Being in Duke’s arms was more relaxing than she could have imagined. She had been so nervous about tonight ever since it was planned, and now she couldn’t figure out why. They were jolted out of their own little world by the sounds of the Gull closing for the night, and she felt a light blush stain her cheeks. “Wow, I didn’t realize how late it was.”</p><p>“Me either,” Duke chuckled as he stood and held out a hand to help her up. He walked her to her car where his hand went to her cheek and he paused long enough for her to stop him before he pressed a sweet chaste kiss to her lips, lingering there for a few seconds. “Goodnight, Audrey,” he whispered. He didn’t want to push this too fast. He wanted more than just some fun this time and she was already too far behind his walls. He couldn’t risk screwing it up. Tonight had just been about the experiment. To see if there was a chance. To see if she came back for more. </p><p>“Goodnight, Duke,” she breathed out, getting lost in his eyes for a moment before she turned to get into the car.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Audrey was completely familiar with the three day rule, even if she’d never had occasion to use it before. She’d never actually had a second date. She’d been so busy with two jobs in college and then Quantico and the bureau that it was a miracle she ever managed any dates at all. Of course, there was no guarantee that Duke would want a second date, but she was reasonably certain that they were on the same page. She wasn’t going to get all clingy though, so the next day, she made sure to avoid the Gull. She went into the station to see if there was anything to do, and ended up spending a couple hours doing paperwork before she got bored with it and headed out for lunch. </p><p>When she saw Vince and Dave walking down the street, she had an idea of what to do with the rest of her day and she waved them down. “Audrey!” Vince said cheerfully. “How can we help you?” </p><p>“Okay, so this is probably weird, but…here goes. We all know that I have, like, zero fashion sense, but I kinda need some new nice clothes, so I was thinking…If I offer you two an exclusive the next time something big happens…would you be willing to help me shop?” </p><p>Vince and Dave looked at each other and Dave said, “I don’t see why not.”</p><p>“It’s as good a way as any to spend the day,” Vince agreed. </p><p>“And exclusives are always good,” Dave added. </p><p>“I think you have a deal, my dear,” Vince told her offering her his arm and leading her towards the clothing store. </p><p>“Now…what exactly are we looking for?” Dave asked falling into step on her other side. “When you say nice you mean…”</p><p>“Date type nice,” Audrey admitted. </p><p>“Casual date or fancy date?” Vince asked her. </p><p>Audrey took a second to answer. She knew that Duke wasn’t much into fancy, but he could be rather unpredictable and she wouldn’t put it past him to spring something special on her from time to time. “Mostly casual date, but one or two fancy date outfits wouldn’t go amiss.” </p><p>“Okay. We can work with that,” Dave assured her as they walked into the store and disappeared into the racks. </p><p>Audrey had mostly only looked for things herself to combat the boredom at first and wasn’t at all surprised when Vince and Dave threw it all out. By then they’d found their own things for her to try on and she spent the next three hours being a dress up doll as they offered opinions and critiques on everything even as they kept coming back with more for her to try. By the time they were done, she was exhausted, but she had eight casual date outfits and one fancy dress. She already had the fancy dress she’d worn last night for lack of anything else to wear, so she felt like she was set. “Thank you guys. I really appreciate that.”</p><p>“Anytime, Audrey,” Vince said with a smile. “We were happy to help.”</p><p>“So who’s the lucky guy?” Dave asked curiously. </p><p>“I’m not sure if I should say,” she hesitated. “I don’t want to jinx anything.” After what Duke had mentioned about him associating with cops, she wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep them secret or not, even if Nathan already knew. It wasn’t like she could keep something like that from her partner, but she wanted to get a better idea of what Duke wanted before telling the biggest gossips in town. </p><p>“Well I’m sure you’ll knock him dead,” Vince accepted her answer. </p><p>“You did the right thing coming to us,” Dave nodded. </p><p>“I know,” she laughed. Not that she would ever do it again if she could help it. They were exhausting. “Thanks again, but I should get going.” She was getting pretty hungry. Sunday she stopped by the station for a little while, but this time trying to dig more into the mystery of Lucy than trying to find work. Not that she wasn’t available to help when she was asked, but that wasn’t her main purpose. </p><p>Monday morning started off crappy as her car wouldn’t start so she had to call Nathan for a lift. When he handed her a coffee that was so sweet it nearly put her into a sugar coma, she started to tease him about Jess, but that was apparently a pretty sore subject because he just shot back with, “And how was your ‘date’ with Crocker? Did you end up in his bed yet?” </p><p>Audrey stopped short and blinked the hurt from her eyes. “Nathan?” she asked confused. </p><p>Nathan stopped walking and took a deep breath before turning to face her. “I’m sorry, Parker. That was uncalled for.”</p><p>“If my teasing about Jess really bothers you, I’ll stop,” she told him. </p><p>“No, it’s fine,” Nathan shook his head. “I’m just a little on edge this morning is all.” He didn’t want to tell her that he was afraid to try and sleep with Jess. That he wasn’t sure if he could. Granted, given her teasing, she had every right to bring up Duke and what they may or may not have done together, but he knew that there was a big difference between friendly teasing and the antagonism that he’d reacted with. “Seriously though. How was your date? Was it okay?” </p><p>“It was great,” Audrey said, smile breaking out on her face as she thought about it. “And you’re wrong about him, you know.” She had to at least try. </p><p>“Yeah, I don’t think so,” he scoffed. “But I’m not gonna try and run your life. If you want to make this mistake, that’s on you.”</p><p>“I suppose asking you to be supportive is too much to ask?” she asked wearily. </p><p>“I’ll tell you what. If you two end up lasting more than a few weeks without him screwing you over, I’ll try to be supportive after that. Deal?” He doubted he would have to live up to it anyway. </p><p>“Okay. I can live with that,” Audrey agreed easily as they got to the crime scene. Their next stop was the same medical center where Jess worked since the guy that was killed worked there too. By the end of the day they were no closer to a conclusion, so they called it quits for the night and planned to pick it back up in the morning. </p><p>Audrey went by the Gull, but was somewhat disappointed when Duke wasn’t there, so she decided to try and call him, but it went straight to voicemail. A trip out to the dock revealed that his boat was gone and she forced herself not to read too much into it. At least she tried anyway. Now she was second guessing herself. Did he think that she wasn’t going to call? That she had changed her mind about them? The three day rule had seemed like a good idea, but what if it just fed his abandonment issues. Maybe she should have called sooner. It took a little effort, but she managed to put it out of her mind and went back to the station instead. If she didn’t have anything else to do she might as well go over the case and see if she could find anything. </p><p>She was surprised to find Nathan still there too, but she was hardly going to say anything that would lead to him probing into her presence as well, and it turned out that she didn’t need to ask anyway because Jess showed up with dinner for them about an hour later and she realized that Nathan was avoiding her. She didn’t find out why until the next day though. They had another body and a new working theory, but unfortunately one that involved a lot of paperwork. “Hey I thought you were meeting with Jess tonight?” she prompted. </p><p>“Yeah, I was until you talked me into a pile of paperwork,” Nathan said wryly. </p><p>“No, I can do this. I don’t have anyone waiting up for me or anything,” she assured him. </p><p>“What, you and Duke crash and burn already?” Nathan asked, trying to keep his tone light and teasing. </p><p>“No, nothing like that. He’s just out right now,” she told him, having tried to call Duke not too long ago and still going straight to voicemail which meant he was out of range. </p><p>“Out where?” Nathan asked curiously. </p><p>“I don’t know,” she told him. “I didn’t ask and he didn’t say.” </p><p>“And you’re not curious?” he asked incredulously. </p><p>Audrey laughed and shook her head. “The only way we work is if I don’t get curious,” she pointed out. </p><p>“And that’s it? You can just accept that?” </p><p>“Yes, Nathan. I can,” she said firmly signaling the end to that conversation. “So since I have nothing to do, you go spend some time with Jess and let me handle all this.”</p><p>“No, it’s fine. I can see her tomorrow,” Nathan argued. </p><p>Now Audrey was positive that he was avoiding her. “You don’t want to go,” she accused. </p><p>“It’s not that,” Nathan replied quickly. </p><p>“No, you’ve been weird about this Jess thing from the start. You have a beautiful woman waiting up for you. You have a partner who’s willing to do the boring paperwork and you still don’t want to go?” she asked incredulously. Learning that he was worried about not being able to ‘function’ with his inability to feel made a lot more sense and she gave him the best advice she could. To talk to Jess. If she was in Jess’ position that’s what she would want. Thankfully he seemed to take her advice and went to do just that. </p><p>Audrey hated having to interrupt him later when the station was attacked by the thing and they didn’t manage to get it handled until Thursday. That also seemed to be the day that Duke got back because when she tried to call him when she got finished for the day, it actually rang. “Officer Parker!” he answered cheerfully. “What can I do for you?” </p><p>Audrey could read behind his tone and realized that she /had/ done the wrong thing, but she knew that going straight into a heartfelt discussion wouldn’t work with him. They had to work into it. “Oh, so I’m officer Parker again now?” she teased. “Does that mean that I can’t just call you because I missed you?” </p><p>Duke’s brow furrowed as he answered. “When you didn’t call after Friday, I figured you just came back to your right senses.”</p><p>“You have heard of the three day rule right?” she kept her tone light and playful, but was trying to get the point across anyway. </p><p>“Seriously?” Duke snorted. </p><p>“What? It’s how guys know that a girl isn’t going to get all crazy clingy after one date,” she laughed, trying to explain why. </p><p>“I’ve always thought that was a stupid rule, just so you know. Dinner tomorrow?” he suggested. </p><p>“Yeah. That sounds good. And I was thinking of going by the Gull for drinks tonight,” she told him, leaving the invitation open. </p><p>“I guess I’ll see you when you get here then,” Duke told her, knot in his chest loosening. When Audrey got there, Duke was behind the bar so she went over and ordered a margarita. “Happy margarita or sad margarita,” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. </p><p>“Well you’re here so, happy,” she grinned, running her hand over his as he handed her the drink. </p><p>That response gave Duke the courage to lean over the bar for a short kiss. “You knew I’d be back right?” he asked her. </p><p>“Yeah, I did,” she told him. “I mean, my paranoia and insecurity was trying to convince me otherwise, but yeah.” And at least now she knew that he didn’t plan to keep them secret. </p><p>Duke reached out and brushed her hair back. “At least you knew better than to listen to it.” </p><p>Audrey smiled and leaned into his touch as she asked, “You’re working tonight?” </p><p>“Yeah, April called out and since I was here, I decided to just handle it myself. That was before your call of course, otherwise…”</p><p>“No, it’s fine,” she assured him. “I have to work in the morning anyway so I can’t stay too long.” </p><p>“At least you’re learning how to take time away from work too,” Duke chuckled. </p><p>“I have a good teacher,” she replied before he moved off to serve a few other customers. Over the next hour he popped back and forth to talk to her before she decided to leave. If she stayed much longer, she wouldn’t be able to drive back to the inn. She was seriously starting to consider looking for something more long term and taking the chief up on his offer. The only thing stopping her was not wanting to make such a big life change just for a guy. Especially when their relationship was such a long shot to begin with.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next night, she left the station early again. Duke was going to pick her up this time so she didn’t know where they were going, but he did tell her to dress casual, so she picked out a pair of skinny jeans and one of her new nice tops and had just finished getting read when Duke knocked on the door. He took her up to Kings Point for a picnic and to watch the sunset. </p><p>Once they finished eating, Duke leaned in for a long kiss, deepening it this time and she responded eagerly. Right up until his hands started wandering and then he could sense her tense up slightly, so he stopped and pulled away. He wasn’t sure if it was just too soon, them being in public, or something deeper, but either way he wasn’t going to push anything. He gave her one more short kiss before laying down and putting his hands behind his head. “Want to watch the stars for a while?” </p><p>Audrey hesitated for a moment before nodding and laying down next to him, her head on his arm that came down to brush over her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I just…” </p><p>Duke reached over with his other hand to put a finger to her lips. “You have nothing to apologize for. If there’s something you want or need to talk about, I’ll listen, but you don’t owe me any explanations.” </p><p>“Okay,” she sighed with relief, taking his hand and threading their fingers together, resting it between their stomachs as they just relaxed and watched the starts with light conversation. It was a couple hours of just enjoying each other’s company before Audrey couldn’t help but blurt out, “I’ve never slept with someone I was actually dating before.”</p><p>“Okay,” Duke said without judgement. “Are you a virgin or have you…”</p><p>“No, I have. Just…one night stands and a couple drunken nights in college,” she explained. “Never with anyone I’ve…cared about.”</p><p>Duke rolled to his side and propped up on his elbow. “I’m never going to ask you for something you don’t want to give, Audrey, okay? Whenever you’re ready.” </p><p>Audrey smiled brightly at him and lifted her head for a long kiss. “Thank you, Duke,” she whispered. </p><p>“You ready to go back or you want to stay for a while longer?” </p><p>“Maybe for a little while, but I am getting a little tired,” she told him. </p><p>“Okay. A little while it is,” he said as he laid back down. </p><p>The next day, Audrey called him just to say hi, not wanting to make the same mistake again and when he invited her to lunch on the Rouge, she gladly accepted and it ended up becoming dinner too. Before Audrey left he told her that he was heading out for a few days again but that he should be back by Wednesday. She just wished him good luck and left it at that.</p><p>When Duke got back he sent her a quick text to let her know and she stopped by the Gull after work that night. She didn’t see him again until Saturday morning when he was waking her up at the crack of dawn. At first she wondered what was wrong, but he just told her that he needed to show her something and that it wasn’t anything bad. She sighed, a little irritable this early in the morning on a weekend, but trying not to take it out on him. After all, his unpredictability was one of the things she liked about him…usually. </p><p>He didn’t give her any hints all the way to the marina and she was even more curious to find that he had rented a boat to take them wherever they were going. She decided that he must have something on the Rouge that he didn’t want her to see and didn’t think any more about it. As they travelled though, she was getting more and more impatient. Especially since he was just sitting at the back of the boat meditating. “Seriously, you drag me out of bed at eight am on a Saturday to watch you meditate?”</p><p>Duke huffed amusedly as he came out of the meditation. “Audrey, it’s going to take us a little while to get where we’re going so…relax.” He knew she would forgive him later and that she wasn’t actually /mad/ at him now. </p><p>“Can you just tell me…where we’re going?” she asked hopefully. When he just looked at her she rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. You can’t explain it. You have to show it to me.” It was the same thing he said the last three times she asked. The man could certainly keep a secret, that was for sure. Not that she doubted it with his line of work. “Okay, then just tell me what this is about. Is this…is it about the troubles?” She just needed to be sure that it wasn’t something she needed to be worried about. </p><p>“Buddha says all good things come to those who wait,” Duke told her calmly. </p><p>“Yeah and does Buddha also say drink, smuggle, and always look out for number one?” she joked. </p><p>“I’m a reformed Buddhist,” Duke shrugged. </p><p>“Can’t you just tell me where we’re going? I don’t understand,” she argued. Normally she was on board for surprises, but not when they woke her up so early and dragged her on a boat with a stranger. If they were on Duke’s boat with him driving it would be different, but this had her a little unsettled. </p><p>Duke rolled his eyes and moved up behind her, wrapping one arm around her stomach while the other pointed. “It’s called Carpenter’s knot. It’s been in the Carpenter family since forever. The last of the Carpenters is kind of a hermit. He closed down the hotel and pulled up the red carpet when I was a kid. Now I hear that the grounds and resorts are very special,” he told her, giving her something at least now that it was in view. </p><p>“You hear?” she asked smugly. “You said you /saw/ something you had to show me.”</p><p>“Oh…well I may have embellished about that,” he shrugged. At least that was enough to get her to stop asking for the rest of the trip. He grabbed the dock post and hoisted himself up before the boat even stopped completely, reaching a hand to Audrey to help her out too and the boat continued on. </p><p>Audrey didn’t particularly like being stranded here, but at least it was with Duke. She knew that he wouldn’t hurt her or get her out here for any nefarious purpose. It didn’t stop her from commenting, “This place gives me the creeps,” as they went into the abandoned hotel. Once they were in the entryway and he didn’t seem to be giving any explanation, she asked, “Okay, now are you going to tell me why…” she cut off with a scream as a hand grabbed her shoulder and she spun around, almost falling back into Duke as the noise exploded. </p><p>Once she managed to calm her heart down, she moved back away from Duke who had been half holding her up and turned to look at him in loving awe. “Gotcha,” he smirked as he put a party hat on her head and everybody laughed. She turned back to head into the room, Duke’s hand settled at her back, but she stopped in the doorway. “Are you crying?” he realized, reaching out to take her chin. Seeing that they were happy tears, he said, “Crying will not be tolerated.”</p><p>“Shut up,” she laughed smacking him in the chest. “I am still armed.” There was a bit of gushing, meeting the new girl, and once she realized that she’d known Duke since they were kids, she very much intended to corner her for some stories at some point. She never bothered to ask Nathan since he probably wouldn’t share nice ones. When Nathan came in with the cart of luggage and gifts, she took a moment to see how he was doing since Jess had left town, unable to deal with all the trouble drama. </p><p>Once everyone else had left to choose rooms, Audrey went over to Duke, but before she could say anything, he said, “You know…I don’t really do public displays of gift giving, but…I got you a gift…”</p><p>“Actually, I was gonna go look for Mr Carpenter. He said that he knows Lucy so I wanted to ask him some questions,” she couldn’t hold it in any longer. </p><p>“We just got here,” Duke pointed out. “Don’t worry. You’ll have all weekend to catch up with the old guy that you…just met.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Audrey shook her head, finally registering what he had said. “Did you say that you got me a gift? What is it? Is it a pony?” she joked. </p><p>“Forget it,” he shook his head, chickening out, and started to walk away, but she caught his arm before he could get far. </p><p>“No, Duke. Come on. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. I love that you got me a gift,” she assured him. “I’m just…not really used to the whole…birthday thing, you know?” </p><p>“No, it’ll be better if I just give it to you when we get back,” he decided. He could tell her what little he knew anytime. She only had this weekend to get information from the old guy. </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed. “Whenever you want. Just…why don’t we go pick out a room before I go looking for Mr. Carpenter?” she suggested biting her lip nervously. </p><p>“We? /A/ room?” Duke asked, picking up her wording and wondering if she was hinting at what he thought she was. </p><p>“Yeah, i-if you want,” she said hesitantly. </p><p>Duke reached out and lifted her chin as he lowered himself to her level. “No, Audrey. If /you/ want.” </p><p>“I do,” she breathed out. </p><p>“Okay then,” Duke grinned, leaning down for a quick kiss before leading the way. They got their bags put up and he pulled her into a longer kiss before releasing her. “You sure you want to go find the old guy right now?” </p><p>“Not really,” she chuckled. “But even if I didn’t we still need to get back down to the party for now anyway…what’s this?” she asked curiously noticing the wrapped box on the bed and looking at Duke curiously. </p><p>“Don’t look at me,” he shrugged. “Your room was already picked in advance though so it’s probably for you.” </p><p>She opened it to find a beautiful blue dress inside. “I guess I know what I’m supposed to be wearing tonight,” she laughed. </p><p>“As hints go, that is a pretty big one,” Duke agreed. “I’ll go ahead and go down while you change and then find Mr. Carpenter.” </p><p>“Hey, Duke,” she called as she reached for his hand. “Thank you for this. I know you’re not really into parties like this and it just…it means a lot.”</p><p>“Just don’t expect it too often,” he said wryly, pulling her in for one more kiss. </p><p>“I won’t,” she promised before shooing him out the door. </p><p>Duke headed back down to the party to find Nathan scrutinizing him, but he just ignored it. He’d been getting a lot of that since he and Audrey had started dating a few weeks ago.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t long after Audrey came in when a scream rang out from Julia and they all rushed towards it. Learning that there was a freaking Chameleon among them had Duke completely on edge which only got worse as Garland stood there explaining what he knew. Learning that they were currently being held prisoner here just pissed him off, but before a fight could break out between him and the old man, Audrey stepped in to stop it, and he just threw up his hands. This was supposed to be a nice romantic weekend. He and Audrey had plans tonight for god’s sake and now this. He wondered what gods he had pissed off recently. </p><p>Once Audrey was conned into giving up her weapons, Duke made a point that the other two badges needed to give up theirs too before Audrey, Nathan, and Garland headed for the boathouse. When he tried to go with them, Audrey stopped him. “We need someone here to help protect everyone else,” she told him. “We’ll be okay.”</p><p>“Just be careful. If one of them is this thing…”</p><p>“Then I’ll have the other one as backup,” she assured him. “These things can only mimic one person at a time.”</p><p>“You’re assuming there’s only one of them,” Duke pointed out. “But okay.” He was relatively certain there was only one too. There had only been one person on this island all this time. He just wanted to get the thought in her head not to take anything for granted. </p><p>Once they were gone, he went up to the attic. There had to be some way to get out of here or at least call for help. When he found the radio he grabbed it and some tools to head back down. If he could get it working that would be great. He was still working on it when the others came back to let them know that there was no boat. When they split up into groups to search, Duke bowed out, wanting to continue working on the radio, but once everyone was gone, he decided to check a few other things out. Seeing that the boat had been shot up, he rushed back to the hotel and went to check Nathan’s bag. Both of Audrey’s guns were accounted for which left Nathan’s. When he couldn’t find it in the bag, he grabbed an axe and went back down to the party room to confront Nathan which ended up almost turning into a free for all until Audrey broke it up and came up with another idea. </p><p>Duke was skeptical, if only because he still had his gift for her in his pocket so it wouldn’t work to clear him, but he didn’t say anything. He was more than a little smug when it turned out that he was right and that Nathan was the monster, but then it turned out to be a mistake. Before they could do anything else the power went out again and everyone scattered. Duke immediately went for the newly uncovered gun since his axe was in pieces, but it was already gone. </p><p>Nathan, Audrey, and Duke stayed together as they went to find the breaker box and get the power back on so they could round everyone else up, but the fact that Audrey had tried to get him to stay behind…after yelling at him for trying to grab a weapon…made him suspicious. Either she thought he was the chameleon or she was. As they walked, he told her, “You know…I was so looking forward to this party too.”</p><p>“I know,” she said gently reaching for his hand. “We’ll get it all worked out and get back to it soon enough.” </p><p>Duke gripped her hand tightly before yanking her against him and wrapping his arms around her head. “Where is Audrey,” he snarled. </p><p>“Duke…what are you doing…” Nathan said carefully. </p><p>“This…is not Audrey,” Duke told him. </p><p>“You can’t be sure of that…” </p><p>“Yes. I can,” he said coldly. “I /know/ Audrey. And clearly this thing knew that since it’s been trying to keep me away all night.” </p><p>“Look, Duke…there are a lot of reasons why your girlfriend might be being a little distant. Especially in this situation,” Nathan tried to reason. </p><p>“I’m not the stupid chameleon,” Audrey snapped as she fought Duke’s grip. </p><p>“If you were really Audrey, you would have been keeping me close all night. Not pushing me away. You would have known that this party is not my scene at all. You would have known that I never put my gift on the table so that little party trick wouldn’t have worked for me. Unless you were trying to set me up to look like the chameleon.”</p><p>“Maybe you are,” Audrey argued. “I know Duke well enough to know that he would never hurt me like this.” </p><p>“Duke…let her go…now,” Nathan ordered. </p><p>“No…Nathan…think…please…this is /not/ Audrey. Some part of you has to know that!” </p><p>Nathan stepped forward slowly and pressed a hand to Audrey’s cheek as Duke shifted back, but allowed it. “I do,” Nathan nodded. “But we’re not going to get any answers like this.” </p><p>“You…know?” Duke asked. “How?” </p><p>“Because I can feel Audrey’s touch. I can’t feel hers. I didn’t feel anything when she was untying me either, but I didn’t think anything of it until now,” Nathan explained. </p><p>“Don’t you think that’s something we should have known?!” Duke snapped. </p><p>“This isn’t the time for this,” Nathan snapped back. “Now let her go.” </p><p>“Why?” Duke growled, tightening his grip. “We need to find where it put Audrey.”</p><p>“Duke…” Nathan said gently. “If it’s Audrey, then she’s already dead.”</p><p>“No!” Duke yelled. “No, she’s not. I…I won’t believe that…no.”</p><p>“He’s right,” the chameleon said hoarsely through the grip on her throat. “She’s different. She didn’t die when I took her form.” </p><p>“Then where. Is. She,” Duke demanded. </p><p>“I’ll tell you…if you promise to let me go. I just want to live in peace. I’ll find a new life somewhere and never bother any of you again,” the chameleon promised. </p><p>“Deal,” Duke said quickly. </p><p>“Duke, no,” Nathan shook his head. </p><p>“She doesn’t have much more time before she suffocates,” the thing pretending to be Audrey said. “This is your only chance to save her.”</p><p>“Nathan…we’re doing this…” Duke gave him a serious look and eventually Nathan nodded. </p><p>Duke slowly let her go, but kept a firm grip on her wrist. “You take us to Audrey. Once we confirm that she’s there and alive, we let you go. There’s no reason to get the others in on this. Deal?” </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly. She could feel from the memories that she’d assimilated that Audrey considered both of these men to be completely trustworthy, so she told them where to find the body. The tight grip on her wrist dragged her along with them to the trunk. </p><p>“Open it,” Duke ordered, seeing that it took a key. </p><p>Nathan was the first one next to it. Not only was Duke keeping a hold on the shapeshifter until it could be confirmed, but he was the only one who would be able to immediately tell if it was some kind of trick. He opened the lid and grabbed her wrist to check for a pulse, sighing with relief. “It’s really her. But her pulse is weak…” </p><p>Duke let go of the chameleon and rushed over to Audrey’s side, running a hand over her cheeks and neck and trying to think if there was something he could do to help. “Come on, sweetheart. Come back to me, Audrey,” he whispered. </p><p>While Duke was distracted with Audrey, the chameleon went to leave but Nathan was faster. He rushed over and broke it’s neck before it could get away. At the sound of the snap, Duke looked up at Nathan. “We couldn’t let it go and keep killing people. No matter where it went.” </p><p>Duke just shrugged and turned his attention back to Audrey as she started to wake up. He would have honored the deal, but he wasn’t going to fault Nathan for not. “Hey there, sweetheart. You’re okay,” he assured her when her eyes opened in a panic. “You’re okay. I’ve got you,” he said again, sliding his arms underneath her and lifting her out of the trunk. “You’re okay,” he said again, burying his face in her hair and just breathing her in. </p><p>Audrey could feel moisture from his tears and knew that he wouldn’t want Nathan to see, so she just slid her hand through his hair soothingly. “Yeah. I’m okay. Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you both,” she added to Nathan who nodded at her. </p><p>Nathan was starting to realize that he had misjudged Duke. At least as far as Audrey was concerned. Clearly he cared a lot for her. There was no denying that now. Especially when he noticed how red-rimmed Duke’s eyes were when he let her go. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Nathan had to ask now that the emotional moment was over. </p><p>“I had just changed into my dress and was headed downstairs to look for Mr. Carpenter. I was hit from behind and then nothing until I woke up just now. What happened?” </p><p>“The old guy was a chameleon. He’s been pretending to be you for last twenty-four hours,” Duke told her. </p><p>“It took you that long to figure it out?” she asked. </p><p>“Neither of us got to spend much time with you. Once we found Carpenter’s shed skin and knew what we were looking for things got hectic,” Nathan said. “Duke was busy trying to fix the radio once we were stranded and you and I split up into different groups to search for the body of whoever he was pretending to be, and every time the whole group was in the same room it descended into chaos.”</p><p>Audrey nodded. She could accept that. There was no one else here other than these two that she would have expected to know her so well. “I should have figured it out sooner,” Duke admitted, hating himself for not. </p><p>“You were busy trying to help /everyone/ Duke. Don’t beat yourself up for it,” she told him gently. </p><p>“Yeah, it took you like a minute before you figured it out,” Nathan pointed out. “I’m the one who should have figured it out sooner. I may not have had a lot of time with her, but I had more than you did.”</p><p>“At least it got figured out,” Audrey jumped in before an argument could start. “Where’s everyone else?” </p><p>“Probably still scattered around the place,” Duke shrugged. “When the power went out everyone else went every man for himself. The three of us were headed for the breaker box when I realized that you weren’t you.” </p><p>“Then we should head down to the breaker box and get the power back on. Hopefully everyone will head back once that happens and we can finally put this whole thing behind us,” Audrey suggested. </p><p>“Since the danger’s over, I’ll take the skin here to the party room for proof while you two go for the breaker box,” Nathan offered, knowing that they deserved a few minutes alone after all that. </p><p>Duke gave him a grateful nod, threading his finger’s with Audrey’s and heading out the door and back down towards the basement. “Just so I know…the sharing the room part…that was really you right?” </p><p>Audrey snorted amusedly. “/That’s/ the first thing you’re thinking?” </p><p>“No, not like that,” Duke shook his head. “Just…you may have had a nice day long nap, but the rest of us have been going for almost two days. As soon as this is over, I am going to bed and I need to know what bed I’ll be sleeping in.” </p><p>“Mine,” Audrey said with a squeeze to his hand. “Or should I say, ours.” </p><p>“Good,” Duke sighed with relief, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her to his side as they got to the basement. “Come on. The breaker box should be back this way.” </p><p>Once they found it and got everything back on, Duke turned to Audrey and took her face in his hands. “I need you to know, Audrey…those few minutes that I thought you were dead…I was…I couldn’t…I love you, Audrey.” He needed her to know that. In case something else happened. In case they really did run out of time next time, he needed her to know. </p><p>“Oh, Duke,” she said happily, standing on her toes and kissing him soundly. “I-I love you, too.” They took a few minutes to just enjoy being together again before heading back towards the room to find everyone else already there and apparently having been briefed on it being over. </p><p>“Okay since we’re all caught up now, I say we go get some sleep. I’ll finish fixing the radio in the morning and we can call for a pickup out of here,” Duke said, and for once no one argued with him as they dispersed. </p><p>Nathan grabbed Duke’s arm to hold him and Audrey back and once the three of them were alone, he said, “I didn’t tell them you were going to let it go. Figured you didn’t need the heat.”</p><p>“You were going to let it go?” Audrey asked him curiously. </p><p>“That was the payment it demanded for taking us to you before you suffocated,” Duke shrugged. </p><p>Audrey just nodded, not knowing enough about the situation to know what she would have done, so she let it go. At least for now. “Come on. Let’s get to bed. Unconscious is not the same thing as asleep,” she gave a little tug on his arm as she turned back to Nathan. “Thank you, Nathan.”</p><p>“You’re welcome,” he nodded to her.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Audrey woke up in Duke’s arms for the first time and sighed happily, feeling safer than she ever had in her life. He was still sleeping and she wasn’t surprised after everything he’d been through, so she just relaxed and enjoyed the moment. When Duke woke up about an hour later, his arms tightened instinctively around her before he opened his eyes and smiled, leaning down for a lingering kiss before Audrey said, “Duke…I know that yesterday was difficult, you were tired and stressed and emotional, and…I need you to know that I’m not going to hold you to anything you said or…”</p><p>Duke shifted partially to his side and slid down so he was looking her in the eye and interrupted her with a soft, “Audrey.” Once she stopped talking he said earnestly, “I love you.” </p><p>Audrey broke out in a grin and reached her hand to his cheek as she said, “I love you, too.” </p><p>Duke kissed her long and deep, not even caring about the morning breath, but when things started getting heated, he pulled back with great effort. “As much as I would love to continue this, I don’t really want our first time to be in the spooky hotel where we almost died. Not to mention who knows how long until everyone else wakes up and someone comes looking for me to finish fixing that radio.” </p><p>“Yeah…you’re right,” Audrey agreed. “We should get up.” She gave him one more kiss before sliding out of bed. </p><p>It turned out that getting up was a good thing because everyone else was already starting to gather in the party room. “Don’t touch that!” Duke admonished Dave as he was poking around the pieces of the radio. “I don’t want you breaking what I’ve already fixed.”</p><p>“We should probably eat something…” Eleanor suggested. </p><p>“Go ahead. I just want to get off this miserable island,” Duke muttered, turning his attention back to the radio. </p><p>Audrey resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but made Duke a plate of finger foods anyway. “At least munch while you’re working,” she coaxed, pressing a kiss to his temple. He didn’t answer, too deep in his project, but he did reach over and grab something to pop in his mouth. </p><p>While Duke and Audrey and never been secretive about their relationship, they hadn’t broadcasted it around town either and since most of the people here weren’t regulars at The Grey Gull, they hadn’t known before that. Audrey was back making her own, far more substantial plate, when she was cornered by Vince and Dave, not noticing the dirty look from Garland towards Duke. “So Duke is the mystery guy?” Dave was the one to ask in surprise. </p><p>“You really could do so much better, my dear,” Vince added. </p><p>“Look, I know a very nice young man…works at the medical center…I could…”</p><p>Audrey cut Dave off, trying to keep the irritation from her voice as she said firmly, “Look, I don’t care what you guys or the rest of this town think about him. Who I date is my decision and mine alone. And I’ve made my decision.” Thankfully that was the end of that and breakfast went smoothly from there as they all got into brainstorming ways to get off the island if Duke couldn’t get the radio working. </p><p>Thankfully it ended up not being needed because it was only two hours before Duke was sending out a call for pickup. Since it would be at least four hours before anyone could get out there, Julia suggested that they finish the presents to pass the time. “Finish?” Audrey asked confused. </p><p>“Oh, right. That wasn’t you the last time,” Eleanor realized before going through the presents that were already open and who they were from before getting to the few that hadn’t already been opened. </p><p>“Nothing from you?” Garland asked Duke hoping that Audrey would realize that he wasn’t good for her. He had already committed to keeping his distance from her and the whole mess, so he couldn’t exactly come out against their relationship, but her being with a Crocker of all people still made him nervous. </p><p>“Yeah, I don’t do public displays. She’ll get my gift later,” Duke huffed from his spot in the corner. </p><p>“And I don’t mind at all,” Audrey said pointedly to the rest with a smile at Duke. </p><p>Now that there was time, Nathan pulled Audrey aside. He knew that if he didn’t tell her then Duke would, and Duke would probably make it seem so much worse. “There’s something you should know,” he told her. </p><p>“What’s that?” Audrey asked curiously. </p><p>“Okay, I don’t know why…or how…or anything, but…I can feel you,” he explained. </p><p>“What do you mean, you can feel me?” she asked confused. </p><p>Nathan reached out and took her hand. “I can feel your touch. You’re the only one I’ve been able to feel since this started.”</p><p>“What does that mean?” she asked, not taking her hand away from him. </p><p>“I don’t know,” Nathan shrugged. “I didn’t even realize it myself until last week, and since Duke knows now after the whole chameleon thing…” </p><p>“That’s how you knew it wasn’t me?” Audrey guessed. </p><p>“Yeah. I didn’t really believe Duke at first. It was just so fast, but he seemed so sure, so I tested it,” Nathan shrugged. </p><p>“Well…thank you for telling me,” she said giving his hand a squeeze. “If you figure anything else out about it…”</p><p>“I’ll let you know,” Nathan promised. </p><p>Once the boat finally arrived and they all made it back to shore, Duke invited Audrey to the Rouge and she gladly accepted. Duke waited until they were sitting comfortably on the deck before he pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to her with a, “Happy Birthday.” </p><p>She smiled happily at him before opening it to find a delicately engraved wooden box. When she lifted the lid on the box she saw the necklace and sucked in a sharp breath. “Wow, this is beautiful. Thank you.” </p><p>“Look closer. At the engraving,” he told her. </p><p>She turned it over in her hands. “L.R.” she said puzzling it out. </p><p>“Lucy Ripley,” he said. </p><p>“H-how…where did you get this?” she asked him in awe. </p><p>Duke took a deep breath before answering, “Lucy gave it to me.” </p><p>“When? Why? You knew her?” Audrey asked, feeling betrayed. </p><p>“It’s complicated,” Duke tried to explain. “It was the day after the Colorado kid, two days after my dad had died. I was out on Kick ‘Em Jenny Neck looking for buried treasure…”</p><p>“Looking for what?” Audrey asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice. </p><p>“I’d overheard my dad talking about finding something important there a few days before he died, so I…borrowed a boat and went out there to find it, thinking it was some kind of buried treasure or something,” he shrugged before getting back to the story. “Anyway, Lucy and I bumped into each other. I have no idea what she was doing there, but she looked me over for a minute before taking her necklace off and handing it to me. She told me to hold onto it and one day I would find someone to give it to. I didn’t know what she meant, of course, but I did it anyway.”</p><p>“And you never sold it or anything?” Audrey asked in surprise. </p><p>“Oh, I thought about it,” Duke admitted. “There were a lot of days after that when I was /very/ hungry, but something told me not to. That it was important. So I held onto it. Until now.” </p><p>“Duke…that’s…that’s so sweet,” she told him, tears filling her eyes. </p><p>“There’s more you should know,” Duke said nervously, knowing that this was the part where he would start digging his hole. He just hoped that he would be able to get out of it. “The boy…standing next to Lucy in the Colorado Kid photo…it was me.”</p><p>“Wh-I-I don’t…how could you not tell me that?” she asked hurt. </p><p>“Because I don’t remember it,” Duke told her. “That entire day is just a complete blank. I don’t remember ever meeting her before the time she gave me the necklace, and I have no idea what I was doing that day.”</p><p>“I mean…it was a long time ago…” Audrey tried to make sense of it. “And if your dad had just died…”</p><p>“See that’s what I thought too, so I figured I’d go asking around. Try to piece the memories back together so I would have something to tell you, but…it’s not just me.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” she asked confused. </p><p>“I mean /no one/ remembers that day. I started with the people that you didn’t know about and wouldn’t think to ask, but they’re all just as blank as I am. And not a natural kind of blank too. Like something erased the memories of everyone who was there.”</p><p>“But that’s not…I mean…”</p><p>“I still have two people to talk to. You’re welcome to come with me if you want,” Duke offered. “I’m sorry I don’t have more for you.”</p><p>“I-Y-yeah I want to come with you. Who’s left?” </p><p>“I finally managed to track down the photographer and find out where he lived. And then there’s her,” he pulled out the picture and pointed to an older girl at the back. “That’s Vanessa. She was my babysitter and she works at Haven High.” </p><p>“Okay. Let’s go then,” she said excitedly. </p><p>“It’s Sunday,” Duke chuckled. “We can go tomorrow after school lets out.” He hadn’t been able to find her home address and wouldn’t know if she was home anyway. </p><p>“Yeah. Okay. Tomorrow,” Audrey agreed, curling up to his side. “Thank you, Duke.” </p><p>He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down for a kiss in response. “You staying for dinner?” he asked hopefully. </p><p>“Yeah. Dinner sounds great,” Audrey agreed, so he got up to start cooking. Audrey followed him, and asked, “Is there anything I can do?” </p><p>“I got it,” Duke assured her. “Unless you want to start chopping the vegetables,” he added when he realized that she was uncomfortable sitting there watching him cook. After dinner they moved to the couch and he pulled her into a long passionate kiss. “You staying?” he asked with an entirely different connotation this time. </p><p>“Yeah,” she breathed out in answer before he kissed her again. She let out a little gasp of surprise as she found herself picked up, but wasn’t complaining as he carried her to the bed and laid her down gently as clothes started coming off. When they fell asleep a few hours later, they were both happy and well sated.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Duke had breakfast already made before she woke up and had her coffee made just how she liked it. “See, /now/ you know how I take my coffee,” she joked, referencing their first meeting. The last time she’d woken up naked in that particular bed. </p><p>“But you still look damn hot in my shirt,” Duke laughed pulling her in for a kiss before they sat down for breakfast before she headed into the station, making plans to meet him before the high school let out. </p><p>“You know,” Duke drawled as they walked through the halls of the school. “The only time I was ever in school after three pm was for detention.” </p><p>“That doesn’t surprise me a bit,” Audrey chuckled. When Duke started trying to open all the lockers they walked by, she asked amusedly, “What are you trying to do, swipe a lunchbox?” </p><p>“Maybe. Suppose they’re collectibles,” he joked. He paused to reach up into the rafter where he used to hide his stash of pot, just to see if anyone else was still using that spot, but it was empty. “For the record, this place gives me the heebie jeebies.”</p><p>“Huh. I had you pegged as one of the cool kids,” she replied, really enjoying this look into Duke’s past. He wasn’t exactly the most open person on the subject. </p><p>Duke huffed a laugh. “For the record…nobody was cool in high school. Not even me.” He looked around the halls and suppressed a shudder at the memories. “High school, like so many other things, should be left in the past. Where they belong.”</p><p>“Wait, wait,” she stopped him before they headed into the office. “Is that your way of saying you don’t want to help me with this?” </p><p>“No,” he shook his head. “I’m just…worried that you’re not going to like what you find.” </p><p>“But I still need to know,” she said seriously. </p><p>“Which is why I’m here helping you,” Duke told her before turning to the door. “I’m gonna try to get Vanessa to talk to you, but she was just my babysitter. I haven’t even seen her in over a decade.” He didn’t know how much influence he would have over her. </p><p>It turned out just as disappointing as Duke had feared. She didn’t remember anything either. “Alright so maybe I had my hopes up too high,” Audrey admitted as they headed out. </p><p>“Buddha says expectations lead to suffering.”</p><p>“So does quoting the Buddha at me,” she teased. </p><p>“We’ll go see that photographer tonight,” he promised before she had to head back to the station. Unfortunately, they ended up wrapped up in a case. </p><p>When Duke came to pick her up, he noticed the look on Nathan’s face and couldn’t resist a quip. “You always look so happy to see me.” He turned to Audrey and said, “Miss Audrey? Shall we abscond?” </p><p>Audrey looked back and forth between Nathan and Duke for a minute. “I’m sorry,” she told Nathan. “We were going to go talk to somebody about the photo. I totally forgot the time…” She wanted him to know that she wasn’t considering bailing just for a date. </p><p>“Does that mean we’re not doing this? Because that’s fine…” Duke said quickly. </p><p>“None of this is going anywhere tonight. I’ll stay. Poke around a bit more. You should go,” Nathan told her. </p><p>“No, but you’re right. There’s still more people we can talk to. I can make some phone calls. We…” </p><p>“Parker,” Nathan interrupted her. “You don’t need to be on the clock twenty four seven. Go.” </p><p>“Wow…Nathan Wuornos being magnanimous is a rare and beautiful thing…” Duke joked. </p><p>“Please?” Nathan practically begged her. “Take him and go.” </p><p>“Thank you,” Audrey whispered to Nathan, getting up to leave. After bailing for part of the afternoon to go talk to Vanessa she felt bad about dropping everything in Nathan’s lap, but she would gladly leave. As they headed there, Audrey asked, “Just how did you find Morris Crane? I turned over half the rocks in New England to put a name on that photographer in the picture.”</p><p>“I guess I just turned over different rocks,” Duke chuckled. Audrey took that to mean ‘rocks’ that any self-respecting law enforcement officer wouldn’t find, and let it go at that. “You really think this guy’s got other pictures huh?” </p><p>“Well he had a camera in the photo. I can only hope so.” That visit turned out even worse than the one with Vanessa, but they both managed to get back out to her car before they burst into laughter. Once they managed to get themselves under control, Audrey called in to Nathan to see how the case was going and if she needed to come back, but since Nathan was heading out himself, she was free to spent the rest of the evening with her boyfriend and stayed on the boat again. </p><p>The next day, she had a nice lunch with Julia at the Gull, wondering when this became her life. She had never had anything but work before, and she thought that she’d been happy with that, but now…she had a wonderful boyfriend, was making friends, and actually starting to feel at home somewhere for the first time in her life. Just as they were finishing lunch, Nathan called and it was back to the job. She had to cancel her plans with Duke that night, but he was magnanimous about it. She had let him know as soon as she could and she had more than proven that he mattered enough to her by that point so he didn’t mind. </p><p>The next two days was all go, non-stop and Duke got roped into helping when Vanessa came to him for help with her trouble, but unfortunately it just got Vanessa killed. Duke wasn’t sure if he was glad that she’d told him how he would die or not. It would have been far more useful with a time-frame. Or even a little more detail. The fact that the last thing he saw was a tattooed arm was not helpful in the slightest and had him more than a little paranoid. He was just glad that Audrey was so good at keeping his mind off of it. </p><p>Over the next few weeks, he and Audrey continued to get closer and she was generally spending a few nights a week on the boat with him whenever he wasn’t on runs. The two of them had also been forming a relatively solid friendship with Julia, Audrey more than Duke. Duke was never really the friend type. He was more the acquaintance, business connection, ally, type, but he was trying. So much so that he had started hosting weekly poker games on his boat. It was at one such game where Audrey’s boss from the FBI showed up. </p><p>Audrey could see Duke’s nervousness at having a fed on his boat so she told him, “I’m just gonna take him down to the living area so we can talk if that’s okay?” She was reasonably certain that Duke didn’t have any contraband there. Not when she was such a frequent visitor, but she wanted to be sure. </p><p>“Yeah, fine. Just no snooping,” he told her, trusting her to keep an eye on the fed as he went back to the game and started losing non-stop. Once he decided to be done and tried to kick them off his boat so he could go check on Audrey and the fed and hopefully spend the rest of the evening with her, they offered one more hand. This time playing for a rare baseball card that he’d been holding on to. He didn’t see any reason not to so he agreed to one more hand. When he lost…again…he started getting more than a little suspicious and talked Julia into coming with him to find it. He didn’t want to leave her alone with those guys. </p><p>Audrey was more than a little nervous when they ended up getting locked in. Duke wouldn’t have done that. He might have to her as a joke or something, but not with her boss in here with her. Which meant that someone else did. And something was going on. She tried everything to get out, cursing the fact that she didn’t have a cell signal in here either with the hatches sealed. Agent Howard just kept bugging her about answering his questions though so she was going back and forth between trying to get out and trying to shut him up. She got where he was coming from. If there was no way out she would just have to wait for Duke to come looking for her anyway, but she was worried that something had happened to him. Or was going to happen to him. Otherwise why get her out of the way. Still, he gave her no choice but to sit down and answer questions. </p><p>Once Audrey heard the engine start and felt the boat moving, she knew that she was out of time and got back to finding a way out. This just got more serious. “Is this your friend’s idea of a joke?” Howard asked. </p><p>“Duke wouldn’t pull this with you on board. He’s not interesting in pissing off the FBI,” Audrey snapped. </p><p>“Well someone locked us in the stateroom and is taking us to sea,” Howard pointed out. </p><p>“Yes, they are,” Audrey said, as she looked through the cabinets looking for a tool heavy enough to break a window. </p><p>“What are you doing?” Howard asked. </p><p>“Making a phone call,” she said sticking her arm out the now broken port hole only to realize, “Damnit. We’re too far from shore.”</p><p>“Not a bad idea,” Howard admitted. “Would have been better if you’d thought of it when we were in the harbor.”</p><p>Audrey looked at him incredulously. He was the one who kept stopping her from finding a way out and quickly made a new plan. She sent a text message before putting the phone in a sealed jar that she was relatively certain would float and tossing it out to sea. Hopefully it would drift close enough to the mainland for the text to send. </p><p>Duke was more than pissed about being locked in his hold, and finding out that these guys knew his escape hatch and had somehow managed to take all of his bullets from his hidden guns just made it worse. He was almost regretting bringing Julia in here with him when she started giving him the third degree and judging everything he said. He really wished he was stuck with Audrey. She would just be focused on helping to get them out and not grilling him. Who would have thought that the cop would ask less questions. When she started talking about opening the boxes in the hold, he had to put a stop to that as firmly as possible. </p><p>Once Audrey got the cell phone sent she realized that she had to risk some of Duke’s secrets and just hoped that she could manage the damage control if Howard learned something he shouldn’t. There wasn’t a choice now. If Duke didn’t have control of this boat then he had to be out of commission and if he was hurt or dying she had to help him. She started looking over the counters and in cabinets looking for any secret levers or trap doors. She found a couple hidden guns in her search, but didn’t draw any attention to them. She had her own. When Howard asked what she was doing, she said, “There has to be a secret panel or chamber here somewhere.” </p><p>“A secret panel?” Howard asked suspiciously. </p><p>“Yeah. Duke always has a plan B,” she told him, reaching back behind the shelves to knock on the walls. </p><p>“Sounds like you two are pretty friendly,” Howard said worriedly. The idea of her letting a Crocker get close was more than a little concerning to him. If she let her guard down and let him kill her then this entire town would be doomed. </p><p>“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Audrey said amusedly. </p><p>“You know your…friend…has a sheet going back a long way,” he pointed out. </p><p>“Doesn’t surprise me,” Audrey countered, moving things out of the way as she moved down the shelves, surprised to find a ukulele, and resolving to ask him to play for her sometime. If it was in this compartment it meant that it was his and not something he was moving or selling. “He’s actually been pretty useful in these cases.” </p><p>“That…right there…is reason enough for me to pull you off this assignment,” Howard said trying to drive a wedge there. “If these cases are as delicate as you say they are, they should be handled by a special detail, not you and a felon.” </p><p>“Well that felon just gave me a way to save our asses…sir,” she said sarcastically as she found the secret hatch.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Duke was sitting there trying to wrack his brain to come up with another way out but Julia just wouldn’t shut up. First she was on his case for just sitting there…like her pacing was helping anything…then she was going at him blaming him for everything wrong in the world, calling him a petty crook and a waste of space. Everything that he had heard for so long it was like water off a duck’s back, but he still couldn’t concentrate. He blamed her distraction for taking so long to notice that the boat was listing and /now/ he was worried. Assuming these twats didn’t know boats the way he did, which was a pretty good assumption, they wouldn’t even notice until it was too bad to fix easily. And even if they did notice, the chances of them knowing how to fix it was slim to none. He had to get out of here. He just hoped that Audrey was doing something from her end. If she was even still alive. </p><p>He forced himself to stay calm. With his kind of life, and especially at sea, panic meant death.  Calm was the only way to think clearly. He’d been in worse situations before. This was no different, even if the pissed off likely former friend was a new one. He was almost relieved when the guys came in to start the torture. That meant that they were getting to the end of their game. He just had to hold out until they got angry enough to start making mistakes. Unfortunately, Julia was the big difference and he couldn’t let them hurt her. Not that he was given a choice as he was literally dragged out leaving one of them alone with her. When he was shoved, still tied up, into a chair on deck, hearing Julia’s screams hit him harder than he would have expected and he offered them whatever they wanted if they would leave her alone. They hit a standstill though when he demanded that they let her go first, not believing that he would give them the box. They were right, but that didn’t mean he could just not try. </p><p>He didn’t realize that the guy was reading his mind until he started picking through Duke’s classic torture and interrogation resistance method. Basically putting his mind anywhere but where he was, this time, the zoo. Knowing that his mind was being read did not help him at all. It just made it that much harder to keep his thoughts off what they wanted, not that he didn’t try. He felt the dread welling up in him when they found the box. </p><p>Audrey made her way up to the control room first. First priority was to radio Nathan with their position so that help could get on the way. Seeing Duke tied up and beaten below her on the deck tore her apart, but she got as much information as she could to Nathan before one of the guys was coming back and she hung up the radio and snuck back out. She managed to make it down to the deck to until Duke, who, as usual, had a quippy remark. “Well well. It’s the cavalry. You know, I always saw them coming to get me not save me.” Audrey shushed him worriedly. She didn’t know how far away these guys were. “How’d you get out?” Duke asked, getting down to business. </p><p>“Your escape hatch,” she told him as she finished untying him. Now that he was free and able to help, she felt safe enough for sarcasm. “Man, great poker game huh? Those guys rock.”</p><p>“Okay, yeah. They didn’t come here for poker,” Duke knew that she’d realized the same thing, but what she didn’t know was, “They came here for something that I had hidden very very well, but somehow Ezra figured it out.” Once Audrey explained Ezra’s trouble, he knew they were in deep. “So how do you beat somebody who always knows what your next move is?” </p><p>“I’m not sure, but I…I think I got something,” she was forming an idea. </p><p>When she got up to move, he grabbed her arm to stop her. “Oh. By the way. My boat is sinking. So you may just wanna…you know…factor that in.”</p><p>“Yeah,” she said tightly, wondering if this could possibly get any worse. They headed for cover as she worked out her plan and explained it to Duke. </p><p>Duke was more than a little skeptical, but he didn’t have anything better so it was worth a shot and he went out to play puppet, doing only what Audrey said through the earwig and keeping his own mind clear. He couldn’t help the indignant roll of his eyes when she told him to strip though and he could hear her snickers coming through too. At least she was enjoying the show. He drew the line at the underwear though and was reasonably sure that she was joking about that part and he was back to parroting words again, but finally they were off balance and distracted enough for them to make a move and got them under control. </p><p>Once they were tied up, nice and securely…and locked in a sealed closet for good measure, Duke turned to Audrey. “You go get our other guests free while I try to save the boat from sinking. Julia’s in the hold.” </p><p>“Okay. Hurry,” she told him seriously as he rushed off to do just that, not bothering to get his clothes back on, since he would end up getting wet anyway. Once he got the water pumps running he was able to track down the leak and he had to swim to get it patched. It would still need more work once they were back in the harbor, but hopefully he wouldn’t have to put her in dry dock for it. The patch would hold for now though and the pumps were steading clearing out the water they’d taken on. He just barely had enough time to dry off and get dressed again before he had to take the helm to get her through the traffic and into the berth. </p><p>They got the hijackers turned over to Haven PD and Audrey’s boss dragged her away probably for more information, leaving him with Julia. He tried to make sure she was okay and apologize for what happened but she just got pissed and walked away, leaving him with his own thoughts as he headed back onto the boat. He had tried not to let her words get to him, but they did somewhat. This was why he didn’t do friends. He didn’t know what was in the box. He had assurances that it wasn’t something that was on his no-go list, but beyond that, he had no idea. What if it was something dangerous. He considered opening it up to see just for a moment before deciding against it. His instructions had been clear. He called and let his client know it was ready to be picked up and arrange for another delivery, at a higher rate, and then clipped it back to the line and returned it to the water where it could stay hidden again. </p><p>He had just dropped it when he felt arms wrapping around his stomach. “You okay?” Audrey asked, completely ignoring the box. </p><p>Duke turned in her arms and hugged her tightly too him. “Sure thing, sweetheart. Not the first time I’ve been in this situation. Though they’re usually smart enough to make sure I don’t have passengers first.” </p><p>“Well I’m glad I was here to help this time,” she told him.</p><p>“Do I need to do any damage control? Or change hiding places or anything?” Duke asked her. </p><p>“No. All Agent Howard saw is the escape hatch…and I’m not an FBI agent anymore,” she told him. </p><p>He pulled back to look worriedly at her. “He fired you? For this?” </p><p>“No. He came here to pull me out of Haven. Order me back to Boston and give me a new assignment, but…I couldn’t leave here. Not when I still have so many unanswered questions. Not when I…have you. I quit.” </p><p>Duke smiled sadly at her as he caressed her cheek. “You’re okay though?” </p><p>“Yeah,” she assured him with a smile. “Chief Wuornos offered me a job with Haven PD a while ago, and I’m sure it’s still on the table. I just don’t have my fallback anymore is all. And…I don’t think I need it anymore. I plan to stay in Haven for good.”</p><p>Duke leaned down and kissed her gently. “I’m glad to hear that.” </p><p>“I should probably go get cleaned up, and get some rest,” she sighed. She had just wanted to check on him before she left. </p><p>“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to do here to get her seaworthy again.”</p><p>“Rest first?” she coaxed. </p><p>Duke huffed a laugh. “Bossy,” he teased as he flicked her nose. “But yeah. I was planning on it. It’s gonna take a good twelve hours for the pumps to get enough water moved for me to start fixing the hull anyway and the rest of the repairs are minor.” </p><p>“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow?” When he nodded, she leaned up for one more quick kiss before leaving. She considered staying for a minute, but she wasn’t exactly the able seaman Duke was and the idea of sleeping on a leaky boat was not something she was comfortable with. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with Duke doing so either, but she knew that dragging him away from his boat right now was never going to happen. </p><p>Duke got the box handed off the next day and was glad to be rid of it, but then all hell broke loose. They swore that it was empty and that he had stolen the contents. He checked the lock himself and made sure that it hadn’t been tampered with by the idiots that jacked his boat, so he knew that he was being set up. The fact that he had promised Audrey that he would never involve her in the less legal side of his business led to him asking Nathan for help. Audrey was busy helping someone with a trouble anyway and thankfully Nathan agreed to help. Grudgingly, but he would take it. </p><p>When Audrey learned about the scar on Lucy’s foot…one that she shared…she was a mess. She managed to finish helping the family and checked in on the mom who was working at the Gull, but she was almost glad that she didn’t see Duke. She didn’t know what to even begin to say to him right now. As she was leaving she heard laughter though and couldn’t stop herself from stepping around the corner to see. When she noticed Duke and Nathan, playing cards and actually seeming to get along for once, she smiled and turned to leave. Even if she was ready to face anyone, she wouldn’t risk interrupting that. Them getting along would make her life a lot easier. </p><p>She went to the location of the Colorado Kid murder and just sat there for a good long while, hoping for some memories to jog loose as she tried to come to terms with the fact that Lucy wasn’t her mother. Lucy was /her/. Somehow. She basically shut herself off from everyone for a while, returning to that spot often until her encounter with a strange older man there. Mostly she was just staying locked in her room. Duke had messaged her at one point, but she just sent back that she needed some time alone to clear her head.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Duke got a visit from a man with the tattoo that was supposed to kill him, he was more than a little panicked. He knew that Audrey was trying to get some space, which he completely understood, but he needed her help right now. When he went by the inn to find her, he ran into Julia there. Finding that she wasn’t talking to Julia either helped him, but she wasn’t letting him anywhere near Audrey right now. Using the ‘she doesn’t want to see anyone’ excuse so he just contented himself with leaving her a message even though Julia made it clear that she hated him now. </p><p>Audrey tried to get rid of Julia too, but it didn’t go as well so she had to put up with her. Was this what friends were like? At least Duke understood the need for solitude sometimes, but this was annoying. Just because she had to accept the company didn’t mean that she had to open up and she didn’t. Julia didn’t tell him about Duke’s message until a few hours later and she was pissed that it hadn’t been the first thing she said. She was also pissed at herself for dodging his calls. She should have known that it would be important. When she pushed Julia for an answer on why she waited and found out how much she hated Duke now and then started praising Audrey for cutting him out of her life, Audrey was livid. She kicked Julia out, not taking no for an answer this time and immediately headed to the Gull to look for Duke. </p><p>She saw the man from the beach at the restaurant and realized that he was Max Hansen. The one that was apparently after Duke. She sat down with him to ask questions and warn him away from Duke, but then she had something new to think about when the waitress spilled hot coffee on him and he didn’t seem to feel it. She and Duke headed off to do some investigating and get to the bottom of things and they soon realized that Nathan was Max Hansen’s son and she knew that she had to tell Nathan. </p><p>“You sure you want to tell Nathan alone?” Duke asked. </p><p>“No, but he’s my partner,” she said seriously. He deserved to hear it from her. </p><p>“Did you already tell him about the other thing?” Duke asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to push her to open up, but he was feeling a bit neglected lately. </p><p>“What other thing?” </p><p>Duke scoffed and shook his head. “The thing that’s got you holed up living on frosting.” He saw the stricken look on her face as she went off into her own world and muttered, “I didn’t think so.” He reached out and took her arm gently to stop her from walking when she didn’t seem like she was going to slow down. “Hey…come on. What is it? You’re a mess.” </p><p>Audrey took a deep breath and shook her head. “I can’t right now.”</p><p>“Because you have to talk to Nathan first,” he huffed. </p><p>“Yeah,” she nodded. She couldn’t let this just sit. He needed to know now and the conversation she needed to have with Duke would take a while. </p><p>“Do I have to like that?” he asked tightly. </p><p>Audrey felt horrible for treating him this way and realized that he was worried that he was losing her. She promised herself that she would talk to him as soon as possible, but for now she had to go. “For today? Yeah,” she told him, hoping that he would get the hint that it wouldn’t be long. </p><p>Once she told Nathan the news, he immediately headed to confront who he now knew was his adopted father about it. Before Audrey could make her escape, the call came in that Max Hansen was dead. When she learned that Nathan suspected Duke, there was no way she wasn’t going along. She knew that Duke hadn’t done it, and she was going to make damn sure that Nathan didn’t try to railroad him. When they walked around the corner at the Gull they found a shotgun pointed at them, but Duke calmed once he realized it was them. </p><p>“Hear you’re afraid of Max Hansen,” Nathan said. </p><p>Duke thought for a second before shrugging. “Ah screw it…Normally I’d try to act all manly but…yeah. I’m terrified,” he admitted as he sat down on the railing. “Why do you ask?” </p><p>“Make it a lot easier on you if he was dead, wouldn’t it?” Nathan asked evenly. </p><p>“Are you offering?” Duke asked with mock-hopefulness. </p><p>Audrey rolled her eyes knowing that they weren’t going to get anywhere this way with Nathan dancing around the issue and Duke being so on edge. </p><p>“Where were you earlier, Duke,” she got straight to the point. She would prove that he didn’t do it and then they could get on to finding some serious suspects. She had to fight not to smile at his obvious glee at the fact that his problem had been killed, even as he took a moment to assure her that he wasn’t offended by her asking, but Nathan was like a dog with a bone. She could understand that really, under the circumstances. To find out that he had a father that he never knew just in time for him to end up dead had to be messing with his head, but that was no reason to take it out on Duke. She stayed back long enough to suggest that he not let his guard down yet. That there were still other people out there with the same tattoo, but then she had to catch up with Nathan. They had to figure out this crack thing. </p><p>By the end of the day they managed to track it down to the chief just in time for him to break apart himself and Audrey felt horrible for Nathan. He’d just lost two father’s in one day. She went to try and talk to him, but when he just wanted to be alone, she left him to it. She would have been a hypocrite otherwise and at least this gave her time to fix things with Duke. She went to find him, guessing that he would be at the boat this late, and sure enough, he was sitting there in his chair on the deck with a large glass of bourbon and a half full bottle next to him. She gave him a hopeful smile and he held out his arm for her so she went over and perched on his knee, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Lucy isn’t my mother,” she told him. “She’s me.”</p><p>“Do what?” Duke asked confused, lifting his glass to look at it suspiciously. “Did I drink more than I thought?” </p><p>She couldn’t help the laugh that pulled from her throat. “No, Duke. You heard me right.”</p><p>“But how is that possible? I mean…she would be…like…what? Sixty? And you clearly remember your childhood and everything, don’t you?” </p><p>“I don’t know how it’s possible,” she shrugged. “I don’t understand any of this. That’s why I’ve been ‘holed up living on frosting’ as you put it. I’ve been trying to make sense of all this, but I can’t.”</p><p>“Okay…but…how do you know?”</p><p>“Because I found out that Lucy had a very distinctive scar. And I have the exact same one. And no memories of how I got it,” she told him. </p><p>“That doesn’t necessarily mean…”</p><p>“I know, Duke. I just…/know/. I can’t really explain it.”</p><p>“Okay,” he shook his head trying to process. “Okay, so somehow you’re Lucy Ripley and you’ve come back with all new memories of being Audrey Parker. That’s…complicated.” He definitely got why she needed some time. </p><p>“Does this…change anything with us? I mean…it’s weird and…creepy and…”</p><p>“No, Audrey,” Duke shook his head, reaching up to brush her hair back. “It changes nothing. I love you. And if I couldn’t handle weird and creepy I would have left Haven a long time ago.” </p><p>“Like Julia did,” Audrey sighed sadly. She’d learned that Julia left town a little while before she came here. </p><p>“Julia didn’t leave because of Haven. She left because of me,” Duke admitted. “Not everyone can put up with being around me and my crazy life. There’s a reason I don’t do friends.”</p><p>“Don’t do that, Duke,” Audrey said gently, running her hand down his cheek and pulling him back to look at her. “Don’t just brush it off like it doesn’t hurt. Not with me.” </p><p>“She was my friend. Realized that I’m a lowlife. Decided she was better off gone. Same old song and dance I’ve dealt with a hundred times before, Audrey. Hell, I’m still waiting for /you/ to figure that one out too,” he huffed. </p><p>“I will /never/,” she said firmly, pressing a kiss to his lips. “I can’t promise we’re going to last forever. No one can promise that, but I can tell you that I /know/ you Duke Crocker. Good and bad. And I love you for all of it. I’m here and I’m staying. Got it?” She hated that he ever had any reason to doubt it, but Julia had definitely not helping Duke’s abandonment issues. </p><p>“I hope so,” he breathed out, leaning his forehead against hers. </p><p>“I hope you know that my whole ‘time alone’ thing wasn’t about pushing you away or any doubts about the two of us.”</p><p>“Okay,” he nodded. He hadn’t known that but he would take her word for it and she was here so that meant something. Besides, he could completely understanding needing space. He was a very solitary person himself and had a tendency to take to the sea for days or weeks at a time when he was wrung out. He just wasn’t used to that from her. </p><p>“There’s one other thing that you should know. It doesn’t really affect you or us per se as much as it just affects the whole town. Most people aren’t going to know the truth yet, but I’m not going to keep it from you.”</p><p>“What is it?” he asked worriedly. </p><p>“Chief Wuornos is dead. He was troubled and his trouble got him.”</p><p>“Wow…that’s…wow. How’s Nathan?” he couldn’t help but ask. </p><p>“Not good,” she sighed and shook her head. “He wanted some time alone though and I wanted to fix things with us. I’ll check in on him later.”</p><p>“Yeah, I get that. You should let him be until tomorrow though. Give him a chance to get himself together tonight.” </p><p>“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” she agreed. </p><p>“That gives me a chance to talk to you about something else /I/ was thinking,” Duke said hesitantly. </p><p>“Okay…what’s up?” </p><p>“Well I’ve been working on converting the space above the Gull into an apartment and I figured…since you’re staying in town and all…you could use it.” </p><p>Audrey broke into a smile. “Yeah. I like that idea. As long as you don’t mind and the rent is manageable.”</p><p>Duke laughed and shook his head amusedly. “I’m not going to charge my girlfriend rent.” </p><p>“Yeah, but you at least have to let me pay something. Even just a hundred or two to contribute to the electricity and water,” she argued. </p><p>“Okay, fine. A hundred to cover the utilities that’ll be on the same bill as the bar…but that’s it.” </p><p>“Okay. Deal,” she grinned. “When will it be ready?” </p><p>“It was ready two days ago. The boat dock will be ready tomorrow so I can park the Rouge there too,” he told her, heart beating out of his chest as he moved closer to the real question. </p><p>“That’ll be nice. Having you so close,” she smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. </p><p>“Yeah…and…if you wanted…you could spend most of your time on the boat and…just use the apartment when I’m out with her…or whenever.” </p><p>“Duke Crocker, are you asking me to move in with you?” she asked, both amused and exhilarated. </p><p>“Sort of. I mean, I won’t be here with the boat all the time of course, but when I am…”</p><p>“That sounds perfect,” she said before he could start babbling again. It was adorable how nervous he was. She’d never seen him actually nervous before. </p><p>“Okay. Great,” he breathed out. “It’s late tonight so we can worry about all that tomorrow. Or the next day if you need to deal with all the crap from today. But you can still stay here in the meantime.”</p><p>“Let’s go to bed, Duke. I’ve missed you,” she told him with a smile. </p><p>“Me too,” he breathed out, getting up and carrying her towards the bedroom.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Duke knew when he was woken up by a phone call from Reverend Driscoll wanting to see him that it was going to end up being a bad day. The kind of bad that could only be found in Haven. And he was right. The reverend apparently trying to recruit him for something was only the tip of the iceberg. Then came the biblical plagues, apparently a second Audrey Parker, him getting roped into going along in case Nathan died as a first-born, and the cherry on top…his estranged wife suddenly showing up in town. He knew that he needed to talk to Audrey about her before she found out some other way, but the insanity of this town was working against him. As it always seemed to lately and they had just barely managed to get the plague handled when she just sauntered up. After he told her to get lost twice already today. “Bug infestations, schizophrenic weather…how do you keep the tourists away?” she smirked. </p><p>Duke sighed and knew that he didn’t have a choice anymore and just had to worry about damage control. “Nathan, Audrey, this is Evi,” he said in defeat.</p><p>“Evi Crocker,” she had to add. </p><p>“You have a sister?” Audrey asked confused and hoping that she was right. </p><p>Duke rubbed the back of his neck trying to figure out how to tell her, and starting with, “Unfortunately…I do not…have a sister.”</p><p>“No,” Evi drawled. “No, I’m…Duke’s wife.” </p><p>“Wife?!” Audrey asked incredulously, echoed by Nathan. </p><p>“Oh…you never told them about me,” Evi said pretending to be offended. </p><p>“Will you excuse us for a moment?” Duke asked in forced calm before grabbing Evi’s arm and dragging her away. He tried everything he could to get her to leave, but she just kept accusing him of running some con and she wanted in on it. By the time he’d given up on her, he turned back and Audrey was gone. Both of them and Nathan were gone. </p><p>Audrey was reeling and could not deal with Duke right now. Dealing with the other Audrey and the aftermath of the plagues was bad enough. She couldn’t face the fact that she was dating a married man so she shoved it into the back of her mind and focused on work. Learning that the other Audrey had all the same memories as her she realized that maybe she /was/ the copy. She had been Lucy once and maybe that had all been fake too. Thankfully the other Audrey realized that she was as much a victim as anyone and didn’t dime her out when the real FBI and the real Agent Howard came to town. After more than a few drinks with her almost sister, she headed back to the inn, hopefully to sleep and forget this awful day ever happened. </p><p>When Duke couldn’t find Audrey, he went looking for Nathan. Seeing him burying his father’s…cooler…he decided that no one should have to bury their father alone and he headed back to his truck to grab his shovel and help. Nathan was the one to bring up the big subject. “I’m guessing by how quiet Audrey’s been lately, you never told her about your wife?” </p><p>“There was nothing to tell,” Duke said defensively. “Hell, I didn’t even know she was still alive, that’s how ‘over’ it is. I haven’t seen her for years.” </p><p>“You need to tell Audrey that,” Nathan told him. “Or you’re gonna lose her forever.”</p><p>“I know,” Duke sighed. “I went looking for her, but I couldn’t find her.”</p><p>“Did you check her room at the inn?” Nathan asked. </p><p>“Yeah. That’s the first place I checked. Even picked the lock to get in just in case she wasn’t answering the door. Then I checked the docks, the Gull, the station…I just don’t know.” </p><p>“Maybe you just missed her,” Nathan guessed as they finished filling the hole. “You should try the inn again.”</p><p>“Yeah. I will. When we’re done here,” Duke decided. </p><p>“Looks like we’re done to me,” Nathan pointed at the filled hole. </p><p>“That’s it? You don’t want to…I don’t know…say a few words or something?”</p><p>“No. That’s it. Now I want to go home and get some sleep,” Nathan said firmly. “And /you/ can’t keep putting off talking to Audrey.”</p><p>“Yeah, okay,” Duke huffed. “I’ll see you later, Nate.”</p><p>“Later,” Nathan replied before calling, “Hey, Duke?...Thanks.”</p><p>“Anytime,” he gave a mocking salute before continuing back to his truck. When he got back to the inn he could see the light on in her room and he knocked on the door. </p><p>“Go away,” Audrey called from inside. </p><p>Duke could hear the wavering in her voice and knew that she was hurting. “Please, Audrey. Just hear me out?” </p><p>“I said go away!” she snapped, hating herself for every tear that streamed down her cheeks and hating Duke Crocker even more for putting them there. All she could see in her mind was all those times that he was gone for days or even a week at a time, spending them with his wife.</p><p>“I can’t do that, Audrey,” he said just loudly enough for her to hear. “Not until you let me explain. Please.” </p><p>“Explain what?” Audrey snapped as she opened the door to glare at him. “That you’re married? That all this time we’ve been together…everything we’ve been through…I’ve just been ‘the other woman’?” </p><p>“Audrey no,” Duke shook his head. “Just…can I come in?” Audrey huffed but walked away from the door allowing him to step inside and close it. “You have /never/ been the other woman Audrey. I /love/ you. Today is the first time I’ve even seen Evi in years. She showed up this afternoon and kept following me around. I told her to leave. That I wanted nothing to do with her, but she wouldn’t listen. I planned to tell you about it as soon as I got a chance, but we haven’t gotten a moment to breathe all day and as soon as we did, she was there and just…screwing everything up. Please believe me Audrey. I would /never/ hurt you like that. Ever.” </p><p>Audrey could feel the pain in her heart starting to ease as she heard the truth in his words. She was feeling kinda stupid now for jumping to conclusions. She knew Duke. She trusted him. This shouldn’t have changed that. Maybe it was because of all the other stress she was dealing with. Doubting everything she was and everything she had ever been, so doubting him was so much easier. Still…she had to know. To be sure. “What happened?” </p><p>Duke sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against the dresser. It wasn’t like he could deny her an answer right now. “Evi and I met about six years ago. We were both hired for the same job and found that we worked well together. So we kept working together after that. It opened up new opportunities for two person jobs. We got married two years later. After a year of marriage, she accepted a job on our behalf that I refused to do. I mean…I’m good with sneaking in, stealing stuff, and sneaking back out, but this job…I don’t do violence and she knew that, but she accepted it anyway. Along with half the payment up front. When I refused she walked out on me. Told me to man up. Said that if I couldn’t do what needed to be done then I was useless to her. That was a little over three years ago. I came back to Haven soon after that. Once I realized that she wasn’t coming back. That was the last time I saw her before today.” </p><p>Audrey reached out and took his hand, pulling him over to sit next to her on the bed. “I…I’m sorry, Duke. I should have…let you explain. I should have trusted you. I’m sorry.” At least she had part of the explanation for his abandonment issues now. And the fact that she’d told him that he was useless…she now /despised/ Evi Crocker. It was starting to dawn on her just how precarious and lonely the line he walked must be. Too criminal for the law-abiding and too soft for the truly criminal. </p><p>“It’s okay, Audrey,” he shook his head. “I get it. Really. It looked bad. Just…tell me you believe me? I never meant to hide it from you it just…wasn’t important until now.”</p><p>“I do believe you,” she assured him, kissing him softly. “I just…everything happening today was all coming at me so fast that the most obvious solution was the only one I could see with all the other clutter in my head.” </p><p>“I can imagine,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. “What ever happened with the other chick claiming to be you?” </p><p>“I think…I think she’s the real Audrey Parker,” she admitted. </p><p>“What do you mean?” Duke asked confused. </p><p>“Well…we know I was Lucy before, so it stands to reason that I’m not /actually/ Audrey. She has the exact same memories as me up until I came here last year. I tested her with some pretty deep stuff. Things I’ve never even told you. The only explanation is that I was somehow implanted with her memories before I was sent here. I even met the real agent Howard who had a whole team behind him, so clearly I’m the fake.”</p><p>“Okay, you’re not a /fake/ anything,” Duke wanted made perfectly clear. “You’re still you whether you’re sharing someone else’s memories or not. With the little bit I saw of her today, she’s nothing like you. There’s some part of you, deeper than memories, something you are at the core, that makes you just as real as she is.”</p><p>Audrey had no idea how much she needed to hear that until he said it. She would never understand how Duke always knew the right thing to say. “Thank you, Duke,” she breathed out, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Did you ever find out what Reverend Driscoll wanted?” </p><p>“Not exactly. He kept talking about having plans for me and some great purpose that apparently my father was a part of too and doesn’t want me associating with you and Nathan, but he wouldn’t give me any details on anything. It’s frustrating.” </p><p>“I bet,” Audrey said sympathetically. “Stay here tonight? And then maybe you could help me move into the apartment tomorrow?” </p><p>“Sounds good,” Duke agreed. “I would bet anything that Evi’s waiting for me on the Rouge. Avoiding her is definitely something I’m in favor of right now.” </p><p>“Me too,” Audrey agreed. “I need to go get cleaned up and take a shower.”</p><p>“Want some company?” he asked with a smirk. </p><p>“Always,” she grinned, leading the way.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Audrey and Duke stayed up late talking out all of the crap that had gone on all day before finally falling asleep, and the next morning they started packing up all the stuff that Audrey had accumulated since she got to town with her one little duffel bag. Once they had gotten everything moved and inside Duke gave Audrey two sets of keys, and they went downstairs for a nice lunch before Duke went to go get his boat moved and Audrey started unpacking. They managed to get a nice interlude for the weekend and even Evi made herself scarce for a few days, but come Monday it was back to the grind. </p><p>Duke and Audrey continued to get even closer now that they were all but living together as long as the Rouge was in Haven and Audrey continued to work with the new Audrey as well while Duke kept trying to dodge Evi. Audrey had offered to dig into Evi and try to bring her down, but when Duke pointed out that she knew where too many of his skeletons were buried, it was decided to just leave it be. When Evi found out that he and Audrey were together, Duke hoped that she would back off, but it just made her even more interested in finding out what con he was playing that involved dating a cop and nothing he said would convince her otherwise. Still, they managed to get along. </p><p>While Audrey was devastated when the other Audrey lost her memories, Duke was there for her and helped her get through it. One night a couple months later while they were lying in bed after handling some kind of plant that had tried to kill them, it got Audrey to thinking about the past and the things that people bury, which prompted her to ask Duke, “You know…you mention a bit about your father from time to time, but you’ve never even brought up your mother…” </p><p>Duke winced at the subject, but if there was one person he could bring himself to talk about this with it was Audrey. He couldn’t do it sober though. He slid out of bed without a word and walked into the stateroom to grab a bottle of bourbon, not seeing Audrey’s worried look after him. He came back and poured them both a glass as he told her, “If I’m going to talk about this, I’m gonna need quite a bit of booze.” </p><p>“Okay,” Audrey said softly, reaching out to rub his back, wondering what could be so bad. If she didn’t think that talking about it would help him…and help her help him…she would have just dropped it, but she suspected that he needed this. Judging by his reaction, she didn’t think he’d ever told anyone this before. </p><p>It took quite a few drinks before he started talking. “When my dad died, the state tried to declare me an orphan…and just before the paperwork came through, my mother showed up to ‘reunite’ the family. I was just a stupid kid. Eight years old. I actually believed that things would be different, but even at that age it didn’t take me long to realize that I was just my mom’s next meal ticket.” When Audrey went to say something he held up his hand to stop her. If he didn’t get all of this out, he wasn’t going to. “She turned my dad’s place into a flop house. Wasn’t long before social services shut /that/ down and she didn’t come around very much after that. By the time I got to high school the only time I ever saw her was when she came to collect the welfare checks. Not that she’d ever left anything before that to pay the bills or anything so it hardly mattered. So, I learned how to do things on my own, but it wasn’t like anyone was going to give an eight year old a job, so obviously I had to find other ways.”</p><p>“That’s what you mean by staying out of foster care,” Audrey realized. She couldn’t really blame him. While there was the occasional good family out there, most of them weren’t much better than his mother sounded and some of them worse. </p><p>“Yeah, you think I’m screwed up now?” he scoffed before getting back to the story. “When I was eighteen, the welfare checks stopped coming to the house and so did Mom. I didn’t see her again until a chance meeting a few years ago. I was…doing a drop in Boston…I walked around this corner and…there she was,” he lost himself in the memory. One of the worst moments of his life. “She wanted to score some dope off me, but she didn’t have any money…and she said she’d be happy to pay me ‘some other way.” He turned back another glass, ignoring Audrey’s gasp. “She didn’t even recognize me.”</p><p>“God, Duke,” Audrey whispered, pulling him close to hide the tears in her eyes. Now she completely got where his abandonment issues came from. The first domino that was followed by so many more. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”</p><p>“I’m not,” he said hauntedly. “It taught me to survive. It taught me that I could only ever count on myself.”</p><p>“Well now you can count on me too,” Audrey assured him. She understood his entire lifestyle now. Being on your own from eight years old, having no choice but to turn to crime to survive…it was no wonder he was the way he was and made it even more special that he was as kind and generous as he was. She’d seen him stop at nothing to help any random kid in a tight spot. How he would never let someone hurt an innocent. The fact that he managed to keep such a good heart and easy-going spirit was nothing short of a miracle. </p><p>“You know…I think the most terrifying part of this whole thing…is that I’m actually starting to believe that,” he admitted only because of the massive quantities of alcohol. </p><p>“I’m glad that you believe it, and now that I understand you a little more, I understand why it scares you,” she assured him. She remembered his comment on their first date about how he would only tell her about his parents if she told him about the worst foster home she’d ever been in. He hadn’t asked for it again, but she felt like she owed it to him. “This whole thing with us…it scares me too, you know. I also learned never to count on anyone but myself. I still remember the day I learned that lesson.” </p><p>“What happened?” he asked gently. </p><p>“I was ten. It was my first foster home after the orphanage shut down. One of the other girls, she was twelve, she told me how the foster dad would come into her room at night, drunk. The things he would do to her. The things he would do to /me/ soon enough. She refused to fight back. The foster mom…she had to have known and just let it happen…the three other girls…none of them looked out for each other. They were just glad to have fresh meat that meant that they wouldn’t be visited as often.” She felt Duke’s arm stiffen around her in a gesture that was likely meant to be comforting, but was just a little too tight for that. The fingers digging into her hip a little too strong. She didn’t say anything though. If anything it made her feel better. To know that it bothered him as much as it did her. That proof that he wanted nothing more than to take care of her. She continued the story. “I snuck into her room that night…the only one who thought to warn me, even if she wouldn’t help me. I waited…until he came…and I stuck a pair of scissors in his neck. Mickey Mouse scissors. He never touched any of them again. He couldn’t. He was paralyzed from that day on. I was moved to a new foster home after that, but that was the day I decided to become a cop. I was never going to let anyone else suffer that way. I would be strong enough to stop it. Strong enough that they could count on me and that I didn’t need anyone else to take care of me.” </p><p>“I will /always/ take care of you, Audrey,” Duke said firmly. “Whether you need me to or not.” </p><p>“I believe you,” she whispered, burrowing her head against his shoulder, knowing that he’d felt her tears but not caring. For once, she didn’t have to be strong. Neither of them did. Not with each other. They had finished most of the bottle of bourbon by that point and when they did fall asleep, it was more like passing out than actual sleep and Audrey was more than glad that the next day was a Saturday because she didn’t think she’d ever been so hungover in her life. She still couldn’t bring herself to regret it though. Not with the great strides that she and Duke had taken in their relationship.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite the fact that he’d learned that Evi had been betraying him even while pretending to help him, Duke was still crushed by her death and his handling of it did cause problems between him and Audrey. Not because she didn’t understand his feelings or because she was jealous of them. But because he was shutting her out, and not in his normal seeking solitude to get his head on straight kind of way. The kind that led to him taking reckless chances and making moral compromises and she was worried. Especially when he seemed to join Reverend Driscoll’s group against troubled people. She got what he was hinting at about being undercover and trying to get answers, and she did trust him and even played along, pretending to be angry with him at every turn. That didn’t mean that she didn’t worry though. </p><p>Audrey knew how undercover assignments worked. She knew how much training and conditioning they took. How easy it could be even for a good cop to fall into the darkness that he was investigating. Someone like Duke who already lived his life skirting the lines, who was completely emotionally wrung out, and had a personal stake in this…she had a right to be worried and if she was completely honest with herself, that was at least part of the reason that she hadn’t shot the rev in the leg. She wanted him out of the picture. For the sake of all of the troubled, but also for Duke’s sake. He wasn’t exactly happy with her over it, but once he calmed down, they just agreed to disagree and let it go. She also promised to do whatever she could to help him find the answers on his own. </p><p>She was there when his trouble activated and the fear in his eyes at it broke her heart. Learning that his father, the closest thing to a decent parent figure he had, had been a serial killer had been a hard blow. Learning that he was supposed to be the same was even worse, but the part that really gutted him was finding Audrey’s picture with a note from his father to kill her. “I wouldn’t, Audrey. Ever. No matter what.”</p><p>“Hey, shh. I know that, Duke,” she assured him, running a hand through her hair from her perch on his lap. “I never thought for a second that you would.” </p><p>“I’m not my father,” he said firmly. </p><p>“I know,” she said gently. “I know.” </p><p>When the dead started rising and he told her the whole story about the Crocker family curse, she made it clear that she trusted him to do the right thing. Even when he was dragged in by the rev’s men on the order of the man’s ghost, he tried to do the right thing and Audrey had to reassure him more than once that it wasn’t him that killed Kyle. That Kyle had done it himself, despite the fact that it was Duke holding the knife. When Duke told her about the insistence of the ghosts that he would kill her or she would kill him. How Sarah had killed his grandfather and Lucy had killed his father. She realized what was really bothering him. “I’m not Lucy, or Sarah,” Audrey told him. “And you’re not your father or your grandfather. /We/ are Duke and Audrey. /We/ love each other. We choose our /own/ destiny and there is not a force in this world that would ever make me want to kill you any more than you could ever want to kill me.” </p><p>Unfortunately, that incident turned Nathan against Duke again and he was relentless about trying to protect Audrey from Duke. Even after Duke helped to save her when she was kidnapped. On their one-year anniversary of all times. They didn’t even end up having a chance to celebrate it since things kept happening so fast. Finding out the Colorado Kid might still be alive, dealing with other troubles, and worst of all, finding out that Audrey might disappear in less than two months. </p><p>It was as much the stress as anything else that led to their worst fight yet. When Audrey asked Duke to kill a man whose trouble was harvesting organs from his children to keep him alive. It got so bad that Duke actually left. Took his boat and took off for three days. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to talk to him before he showed up at the scene of their next case and insisted that he help solve it. Audrey got what he was doing from the start but didn’t have time to actually deal with it. He was trying to prove to both her and himself that he wasn’t his father, but more than that, he was trying to prove that he was his own master. That he didn’t kill on anyone’s command. That night when they got home, they finally managed to talk everything through, and Audrey apologized for putting him in that situation without more of a warning and he apologized for taking off like he did and they put it all behind them, not wanting to waste a bit of the time they had left. </p><p>When they got a clue about the Colorado Kid, one that had them heading to Colorado, Duke packed a little something extra for the trip that he intended to make as romantic as he could manage under the circumstances. He had bought it before the kidnapping and learning about the hunter, and had been waffling on it ever since. He still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but brought it with just in case. He definitely hadn’t been planning on her finding it in his bag while he was out grabbing dinner. He came back to the room to find her sitting on the bed staring at the ring box in a daze. “Uh…Audrey?” he said hesitantly. </p><p>“Is this what I think it is?” she asked in awe. </p><p>“Probably,” Duke admitted. “I bought it before…you know. I wasn’t sure if…I mean…since you might be gone soon…”</p><p>Audrey took a few deep breaths and closed the box with a slow nod and handed it to him. “If I do disappear, I want you to hold onto that. If I find a way to stay then…then you can ask whenever you’re ready and I’ll say yes.” </p><p>Duke swallowed around the lump in his throat as he took the ring box and put it in his pocket. “Okay. That sounds like a plan,” he managed to say. They both completely avoided the fact that when she was Lucy she was apparently in love with the Colorado Kid. She wasn’t Lucy. She was Audrey. That didn’t mean that they weren’t both relieved when they learned that they were wrong. That the Colorado Kid…James…was her son. At least the trip wasn’t a total waste. </p><p>After Duke got stranded back in nineteen fifty five with Nathan, and realized that Nathan had somehow managed to get together with Sarah, that answered the big question that Audrey had been curious about and as soon as they got back, Duke wasted no time telling her. “So there’s something you need to know about what happened in the past.”</p><p>“What’s that?” she asked curiously, wondering what could be so important. </p><p>“Well, we met your previous life, Sarah…” </p><p>“You didn’t…” she breathed out, not wondering how she would feel if he did. </p><p>“What? No. Not me,” he shook his head emphatically. “I would never…I mean…she wasn’t you. She just looked like you. And Nathan will probably kill me for telling you this, but…”</p><p>“Nathan slept with her?” Audrey asked in shock and Duke nodded. “Why is that so important? I mean, yeah it’s a little creepy, but…”</p><p>“Because of the timing. I saw James’ birthday. And when we were there…well…I think that Nathan is James’ father,” Duke told her. </p><p>“Oh my god,” she gasped, doing the math in her head and realizing that he was right. “Oh my god…did you…did you tell him?” </p><p>“No,” Duke shook his head. “I figure that’s your decision and your place to do so if you want.” </p><p>“Do you think I should?” she asked his opinion. </p><p>“If it were me, I’d want to know,” Duke told her. “You don’t know how much it meant to me when you told me about Jean and showed me her picture. Even if I can never see her, just knowing that she’s out there…” </p><p>She nodded and curled up to his side. “Okay. I’ll tell Nathan tomorrow,” she promised. “Does it…bother you? You know…that Nathan is the father of my son?” </p><p>“Of course not. Does it bother you that Beatty was the mother of my daughter?” he asked amusedly. </p><p>“That’s different. You were supernaturally drugged into that whole encounter. You didn’t have a choice. And besides, we weren’t even together then.”</p><p>“And you didn’t have anything to do with what Sarah did and Sarah and I weren’t together,” he pointed out. </p><p>“But Nathan knew that you and I were together. And that Sarah was me in the past,” she replied. </p><p>Duke shrugged. “Sure it’s kind of a grey area, but Buddha says, ‘Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned’. I’m not going to hold a grudge over it. Now if it was actually /you/ and you had amnesia and couldn’t remember me or something then yeah, that would be different, but this…There’s no point dwelling on it.” </p><p>She was relieved to hear that. Nathan and Duke had just barely managed to make peace with each other again. She didn’t want to see something like this tear them apart. To that end, she would try not to let Nathan know that Duke told her if she could help it and thankfully it worked. Once she told him that James was her son from when she was Sarah, he put the pieces together himself. When he didn’t tell her what she could see that he figured out, it pissed her off a little, and she kept the fact that she knew to herself in response. Here she was giving him the courtesy of letting him know and he couldn’t do the same. At least he knew though. Her conscience could be clear.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When all hell broke loose and the barn came and apparently only James knew how to end it without Audrey going in the barn, Duke was more than a little nervous waiting outside with Arla while Audrey and Nathan went in to talk to their son. So much so that he barely even registered Vince outing himself as the leader of the guard. He knew by her face when they came out though that the news wasn’t good and he loved her far too much to ask her to live with the fact that her life had costs thousands and doomed Haven to the troubles forever. Still he had to ask, “What did James say?” </p><p>“He was wrong. Killing him wouldn’t work,” Audrey said, leaning her forehead against Duke’s just taking a moment to breathe him in. “I need to say goodbye,” she choked up. </p><p>“Wait, you said that killing him wouldn’t work, but you didn’t say there wasn’t another way,” Duke realized. </p><p>“It doesn’t matter. The only other way isn’t an option,” she shook her head. </p><p>“Please Audrey,” Duke begged. “You know that I can’t and won’t try to force you into any decision, but at least give me the courtesy of knowing that at least every option was considered.” </p><p>Audrey could hear the desperation in his voice and knew that to deny him would be even worse than the answer. “I have to kill the person I love most. That’s the only other way.” </p><p>“You have to kill…me?” Duke clarified and she nodded. “Okay then,” he said seriously. </p><p>“Duke, no. I can’t do that,” she shook her head. “You said you wouldn’t try to force me into anything.”</p><p>“I did and I won’t,” Duke assured her. “But since this involves me too, I at least have the right to have my say before you decide, yeah?” </p><p>“Okay, fine,” she huffed, knowing that he was just making this so much harder, but unable to argue with that point. </p><p>“You know me, Audrey. You know my past. What I’ve been through. How I think. How I feel. You know me better than anyone. Do you really think I could cope with another abandonment? With /this/ abandonment? No matter the reason?” </p><p>Audrey flashed back to the night that he’d told her that it terrified him that he was starting to count on her. The fact that everyone he’d ever cared about had left him behind for some reason or another. The damage that each one caused that she had finally started to heal. </p><p>“Losing you would destroy me, Audrey. I don’t think I could survive that. But if you do this…/you/ could have a life and there is nothing that I would rather die for than that. You would be doing me a favor.” </p><p>“Duke, I can’t,” she sobbed. </p><p>“Let me die a hero, Audrey. To save this town forever. To save you. Give me a hero’s death rather than leaving me to die as just another criminal in a dirty alley somewhere. Let me choose my own destiny,” he begged. He could see by the pain in her eyes that he’d gotten through to her. That she’d decided and he pressed his gun gently into her hands. “I love you, Audrey. And you are doing this /for/ me, not /to/ me. Always remember that,” he told her as he lined the gun up with his heart. </p><p>“I-I love you, Duke. Forever,” she wept as she pulled the trigger. It looked like everyone was right after all. She was the one to kill him. It was always her destiny to kill Crockers. No matter what else happened. She fell to her knees beside him as he dropped, fisting her hands in his shirt and resting her forehead on his chest, not even caring about the blood that was covering her. “I love you, Duke. I’ll never forget you. I-I’ll make sure this isn’t in vain. I’ll live a long life that would make you happy. I…I’ll always love you.” </p><p>She didn’t notice Nathan standing there in shock, too heartbroken to even notice that he was able to feel again. Nor did she notice Dwight and Vince in near frantic conversation before grabbing a teary Dave and dragging both him and Nathan away to give her and Duke some privacy. She didn’t notice Howard coming over to kneel at Duke’s head and placing a hand there. She had no idea how long she’d knelt there before the blood chest beneath her started moving again and she sat up shock. “What…” she breathed out, trying to figure out if she was hallucinating or not before she noticed Howard standing and moving a few feet away, seeming to be waiting for something. </p><p>Before Audrey could ask Howard what was going on, she heard the most beautiful sound she could have imagined. “Audrey?” Duke groaned. </p><p>“Duke!” she cried happily, pressing a hard kiss to his lips and then moving to support him as he tried to sit up. Once he was as settled as he was going to get, leaning back against her as she knelt behind him, she turned to Howard, “How? Why?” </p><p>“That is a long story, but it is one that you’ve earned if you wish to hear it,” he told her. When she looked worriedly at Duke before looking back at him, clearly torn, he told her. “He will be alright. It will just take a little while for the weakness to fade after being resurrected.”</p><p>“I’d very much like to hear the story,” Duke chimed in, not willing to express gratitude until he knew what it was going to cost him. </p><p>Howard looked to Audrey who nodded, so he began. “It starts a little over five hundred years ago. There was a young woman, Mara, from another world who fell terminally ill. Her father was a scientist and in his efforts to save her life, delved into quite dangerous and harmful research. His experiments caused a great deal of death and destruction on our world, but he succeeded in curing Mara before he was caught, tried, and sentenced to execution.”</p><p>“That’s horrible,” Audrey said sadly. “I mean, I’m glad he saved his daughter, but…to go so far and hurt so many to do it…” </p><p>“Yes, the jury was sympathetic to his reasons, and if he could have been trusted to stop experimenting, they might have given a more lenient sentence, but he had gone mad with power. He was obsessed with ‘improving’ our species by continuing these experiments. By…let me think of a comparison on this world…ah yes…irradiating us all to see what powers the survivors could develop.”</p><p>“What does that have to do with all this?” Duke asked weakly, but at least starting to feel his strength come back. </p><p>“Mara was devastated by the loss of her father. Her savior as she saw him. She was twisted by it. Perhaps helped along by the dangerous substance now coursing through her body. She decided that it was her mission to continue his work, but she wasn’t going to risk doing so on our world. Instead she came here. To this world. She created what you call the troubles, infusing people with the Aether to see what happened, caring nothing for the lives she destroyed or the people who were killed. Once we realized what she was doing, we apprehended her, but her mother pleaded for mercy and proposed a rehabilitation instead of execution, and thus the barn was born.”</p><p>“Wait…you can’t mean…I’m Mara?!” Audrey asked in horror. “I created the troubles? All this is my fault?” </p><p>“Yes and no,” Howard told her. “Each time you entered the barn, your personality and memories were rewritten. Trying to find the correct combination to fix the problem that Mara created. You are no more Mara than I am, but your existence did first belong to her.” </p><p>“Okay, but why? I mean…why keep doing it? Why not just rewrite her and let her go?” Duke asked irritated. It seemed like a cruel punishment to him.</p><p>“Because part of the sentence was that she fix the problem that she created. The only way to keep the troubles at bay was the barn, but it wasn’t a permanent solution. You see, the troubles are created by pure hatred. The only cure for them is love.”</p><p>“That’s what you meant when you said that I had to come out and recharge on love before I could go back and take the troubles away,” Audrey realized. </p><p>“Correct,” Howard said with a nod. “And why only an act of pure sacrificial love could end them forever. In addition, we couldn’t risk letting another Mara loose in the world. We had to find a way to be sure that whatever personality you kept would be a force of goodness. Mara knew nothing of sacrifice or of love. Not after her father twisted here and she knew little of it before that.” </p><p>“But I didn’t want to do it,” Audrey pointed out. “I wasn’t going to. He had to talk me into it.” </p><p>“But you still did it,” Howard told her. “You still put the well-being of countless others before your own. You made the ultimate sacrifice so that no one else would have to. There are many who would sacrifice themselves, but to sacrifice the one you love the most takes a selflessness that most people lack. And it was that selfless love that ended the troubles forever.” </p><p>“So…you’re saying that I get to live now? I can just go out there and go back to my life as Audrey Parker with no more interference?” she had to know. </p><p>“Yes. You can. Or you have the option of returning to our world, but I think we all know which you will choose,” Howard told her with a smile. “The barn will be returned home and you will never see it or me again.”</p><p>“Wait…so you were always going to bring me back?” Duke had to ask. </p><p>“No. That part was left to my discretion,” Howard told them. “But the fact that you are a Crocker made my choice clear.”</p><p>“What does that have to do with it?” Audrey asked confused. </p><p>“The Crocker curse wasn’t like the rest of the troubles. It wasn’t created by Mara. It was created by an ancient enemy. A monster beyond imagining. It’s goal was to use the Crocker line to collect every trouble that she created and when it was finished, to bring them all back to him and make him powerful enough to take over both our worlds. And killing Mara, in any incarnation, would have absorbed her entire power. All of the ones that she had given, had yet to give, and the ability to create more.”</p><p>“So that’s why…” Duke breathed out as everything suddenly started to make sense. </p><p>“The curse was designed to compel the Crocker to use it. To make them /want/ to kill. To allow it to take over. It was created with a compulsion to kill Mara at any opportunity. The fact that you were able to fight that…that your love for her was strong enough to do so…means that it is far more special than either of you realize.”</p><p>“Well I already knew that much,” Audrey said lovingly, leaning her head against Duke’s as one of her hands trailed up to run through his hair, leaving sticky half dried blood in its wake that neither of them noticed or cared.</p><p>“There is one last thing you should know before I take my leave of this world,” Howard told them. “In order to bring him back…I had to tie his life force to yours Audrey. He will be as immortal as you are.” </p><p>“Whoa now…Immortal?” Duke asked in shock. </p><p>“Yes. Our kind are immortal, no matter what world we choose to live in, though you are still human so any children you may have would be halflings with a human mortality.”</p><p>“Wow. That’s…I’m immortal…I don’t…um…is there anything else I should know about what I am? Anything that might cause problems or differences from humans or…I don’t know,” Audrey asked. </p><p>“Our species is very much like humans. Otherwise we would not be able to interbreed. The only difference is the fact that our cell regeneration is much more efficient which grants us immortality.” </p><p>“Okay…one last question?” she asked hopefully. When he nodded, she asked, “James?” </p><p>“He is unable to survive outside the stasis of the barn, which is why the barn will not be destroyed. It will simulate a normal life for him where he will be able to grow old and eventually die comfortable and happy, surrounded by friends and family.” </p><p>“Okay. I guess that’s the best I could hope for,” she sighed sadly. “Thank you.”</p><p>“It was my pleasure Audrey. I am glad that you are the incarnation that is able to continue. You always were my favorite,” he said with a sly smile before stepping back into the barn as it disappeared. </p><p>Once they were alone, Audrey asked Duke, “Are you able to walk yet? We need to get home and cleaned up.” </p><p>“Yeah. I think so. With a little help,” Duke said tiredly, struggling to his feet, but not succeeding until Audrey got up to help him and he leaned heavily on her as they headed back towards the boats. </p><p>They didn’t go far before they ran across Nathan and Dwight who were waiting to go back with Audrey and make sure she was okay after she finished saying goodbye. Both of them gasped in shock when they saw her half-carrying the stumbling Duke. Nathan was the first to rush over, Dwight right behind him, as they took over the burden, draping Duke’s arms over their shoulders. “How is this possible?” Nathan asked. </p><p>“Howard brought him back,” Audrey told them. “Once he was dead the curse was broken and he could be brought back, but I had to do it without knowing that part.” </p><p>“Why would that matter?” Dwight asked confused. If the death ended the curse then what was the difference?</p><p>“Because the troubles were created from hatred and only a selfless act of love could erase them. If I knew he could come back, it wouldn’t have been strong enough,” she explained. </p><p>“That…makes sense?” Nathan half asked confusedly making Duke snicker as they made it to the boats. </p><p>“How are we going to get the Rouge back?” Dwight asked. “Or will we come back for it later?” </p><p>“I’ll be fine to take her,” Duke assured them. “Audrey can take care of it until we get into the trafficked waters and by then I’ll be able to take over for the last bit.”</p><p>“You can drive the Rouge?” Nathan asked her in surprise. He’d grown up on boats and wasn’t comfortable with something that big. Especially with the way Duke had it everything rigged to his own specifications. </p><p>“Duke taught me,” she shrugged. “I wouldn’t trust myself to berth her, but I can follow a course and read the instruments.” </p><p>“Okay then,” Dwight nodded as they got Duke into the chair on the deck. “You want one of us to ride with you while the other one takes this one back?” </p><p>“No, we’ll be fine,” Duke assured them, wanting the time alone with Audrey. </p><p>“Thank you though,” Audrey added when it was clear that Duke wasn’t going to.</p><p>“Oh and Parker?” Nathan called before they stepped off the Rouge. “You can take a week or two off. You’ve earned it.” </p><p>“Thanks Nathan,” Audrey said with a smile. She’d never had an actual vacation before but if she ever needed one it was now. She was managing to keep it together for the most part to get the explanations and now with needing to focus on the boat, but once they were set, she needed to fall apart. The memory of what she’d done was still haunting her and she needed to come to terms with the fact that it was all over. </p><p>Audrey took the Rouge at a much slower pace than Duke would have, but that just gave him more time to regain some strength. It was an hour later before she started slowing down even more as the radar started showing other boats nearby. She was about to call for Duke when stepped inside to take over. By the time he had her settled and tied off, Audrey was shaking as everything caught up to her and Duke rushed back over to her before her knees buckled. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go get cleaned up and then we can relax,” he said gently, leading her to the bathroom. He had to help her out of her clothes and then onto the bench in the shower. He’d been injured enough times that adding the bench had been somewhat necessary and he was glad for it now because he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to keep her on her feet long enough to wash off the blood that was covering them both. Once he had stripped his own clothes off and got the water running, he knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. “Audrey? Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she broke out in sobs and started babbling. “I’m so so sorry. I just…I shot you. I killed you. I swore I would never kill you like I killed the rest of your family, but I did. I’m so sorry…”</p><p>Duke cut her off with a soft kiss before saying, “Shh. It’s okay, sweetheart. I still mean everything I said back there and I would make the same decision every time. And I’m okay now anyway. See?” He kissed her gently again. “I’m here and I’m okay and I still love you with everything I am.” </p><p>“I love you, Duke. I just…I can’t get it out of my head. What I did…feeling the gun go off…seeing the light fade from your eyes…”</p><p>“I know,” he whispered, running his hands through her hair and using the motion to loosen the caked in blood. “Just…open your eyes, Audrey and look at me,” he coaxed. He took her hands again and pressed one to his chest and the other to his cheek. “Feel me. I’m alive and I’m going to stay that way. We can just file that whole thing away as a nightmare.” </p><p>She took a few deep shaky breaths as his words registered and she did as he asked. “Yeah. Okay,” she breathed out. It would take time, but she could get there. “Just promise me…that you will never ask me to do anything like that again. Ever.”</p><p>“I promise,” he said sincerely, hoping he would never have to break it. He didn’t see any possible situation where he would, but then he hadn’t seen this one coming either. </p><p>She suddenly snorted a laugh as a thought struck her. “At least you’re immortal now so you don’t have to worry about the tattooed man anymore.” </p><p>“No, I don’t,” he chuckled. “But not for the reason you think. It already came true.”</p><p>“Do what?” she asked confusedly. </p><p>“When Vanessa told me that the last thing I would see was a tattooed arm, I guess I just assumed that it would be of my killer but back there…I tried to keep my eyes on you, but my head fell to the side at the end and I saw Nathan’s tattoo,” he explained. </p><p>“Oh…that’s…”</p><p>“And I don’t think that immortal means that we can’t be killed. Otherwise why would my ancestors have been trying to kill you. And he said that the immortality comes from cell regeneration which just means that we won’t age or die of natural causes, but there’s no reason we couldn’t be killed, and I’m glad.”</p><p>“Wait…for someone who’s been so panicked about the possibility of someone killing him…you’re glad you can still be killed?” she asked incredulously. </p><p>“Yeah. I am. Because otherwise what would be the point of life? It only matters because it can end.” </p><p>“Oh…yeah…I guess I get that,” Audrey admitted. </p><p>“Now…we seem to be blood free by now and we don’t have unlimited hot water, so…”</p><p>Audrey laughed as she got to her feet, wrapping Duke in a tight hug before stepping out and grabbing for towels, handing one back to him as he stepped out behind her. Once they were dried and curled up on the couch, Duke reached into the drawer on the side table and said, “So, now that we know you can stay…I have a very important question for you.” He opened the ring box and turned it towards her. “Marry me?” She had already told him that she would say yes so it wasn’t as nerve-wracking as he had anticipated. </p><p>“Absolutely,” she said happily as he took out the ring and slid it on her finger before kissing her senseless and then taking her to bed for a real celebration.</p>
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